Does anyone else have a daughter who is a magpie, both in the sense of chattering and hoarding? Well, I do! My daughter likes to save every kids' meal toy, ever paper clip, every empty toilet paper or paper towel roll, every battered, dead toy that doesn't work anymore, outgrown clothes, etc. Every now and again, I swoop through her room with a garbage bag and two grocery bags. The garbage bag gets filled with, well, garbage. One grocery bag is for giveaways and the other is for stuff that might sell on eBay. I do assert my motherhood in this way. I did realize that last time I cleaned out, it worked much better to explain to her what we were doing and let her go through and pick out what she was willing to part with. She amazingly pulled out lots of stuff and we pared down her collection sizably. Then, her birthday and Christmas hit. Right now, she has a closet FULL of some good stuff, but so much junk!
Every morning, she gets up and comes to see me. Once her need for affection and affirmation is satisfied, she heads to her room to get dressed. Dressing, for this little girl, includes packing one of her many purses to near bursting with an assortment of hair bows, brushes, fake cell phones, sunglasses, maybe a small flashlight, some fake food, tissues, small dolls, a few rocks (yes, rocks -- she brings them in from outside and I find gravel throughout the house). Once she has her purse on, she selects a pair of plastic princess slippers to wear throughout the day. She goes clacking through the house, spreading debris every which-a-way. Let me tell you that I definitely involve her in the clean up time!
Last night, she set up a "meeting" in her room. She saved some of her trail mix from snack time and had it all set out in her mini muffin tin for her little kitchen. We all had to wear "robes". She wore her red silk robe, Carter wore his Superman cape, I borrowed Addie's Supergirl cape, and Daniel ended up with a princess blanket tied around his neck. :) We met and read books while she cooked. Apparently it is a book-club/cooking school. Such fun!
My little chatterbox told me as I was fixing dinner last night, "Mommy, I will not be able to eat with y'all because I am going out to dinner with my friends!" "What friends?" I asked. "Canaga, Janie Jones and Uncle John the Baptist!" she replied.
"No, dear, you have to eat with your family."
"Why?""Because I said so!"
The child has already begun to engage in teenage arguments over her imaginary friends and she FIGHTS if she does not get to wear what she wants. These are some of her lesser traits, but they are pretty funny at the age of four (however, I can't let her see me laughing at this!). Of course, I did go back and explain why we as a family eat together and why that is so important and not to be missed. Oh, the joys of raising a daughter. May she always be so hilarious and spirited, but may Christ enter her life and temper her spirit with wisdom and humility...
My little Ladybird "dressed" for the day in the DEAD of winter -- tutu, sunglasses, you can't see her slippers. Notice the large bookbag slung over her shoulder. She's ready to spread debris! ACK!
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