Sugarplum can speeding into our lives 8 years ago today. Eager to join us, she was my earliest baby (at 39 weeks) and though I labored all day, she was one of my quickest deliveries (she arrived in three pushes, only beat out by Pipsqueak’s two).
And she has been taking us on one heck of a ride ever since. From her inconsolable screaming from almost the minute we got her home to wild fits that continued into toddlerhood and through her preschool-aged years, she’s always been our wildcard.
Until one day she wasn’t. Through the craziness of raising young boys and the drama of a pre-tween girl, Sugarplum unexpectedly took the place of the “easy” one. It’s something hubby and I joke about in awe, “who would have guessed after everything we went through when she was young that one day she would be the easy one?!”
That’s not to say she doesn’t still have her hard moments. She can still get inconsolably upset but she more often has moments of giddiness and silliness that can be contagious.
And while moving was not easy for any of us, she has made the transition with amazing grace. She jumped in at her new gym after leaving her best friends and has tackled everything her new coaches have thrown at her. She has made great strides with her skills and technique and improving by leaps and bounds (she’s advanced 3 levels in a little more than a year!)
Despite being behind the other girls on her team and dealing with some bullying issues with her new teammates, she has always endured and pushed herself to be her best.
This past week, the mommy of one of her new teammates and I were chatting while we waited for practice to pick up and she told me, “my daughter said that your daughter is the sweetest, most kind daughter she knows.” And my heart melted.
To know that despite everything she’s been through trying to find her place on this team. Despite some of the other girls being mean to her simply because they “don’t like new girls.” She still found it in her heart to be king and caring towards the other girls.
And that is how I know this little girl is going places. It’s not because she’s stupidly flexible or incredibly strong. It’s not because she puts in the hours and works hard in the gym. It’s because she cares about other people and she can always find it in her heart to be kind to others.
She sees all the beauty, joy and goodness in this world and revels in it. She gets more upset when she hurts someone else than when she is hurt herself. And she is the kind of girl that I’m not only proud to be raising but proud to know.
Her smile is contagious and I dare you to hear her laugh without laughing, too.
