Today Caedance learned to swing. Yes; she's 6 1/2 and just added this to her "Learned" list. Perhaps it's a bit late, but it wasn't for lack of trying, let me tell you. She'd sit on the swing next to Ashlyn, who was pumping away and swinging high as the sky, but her own two legs couldn't seem to make the magic happen. We patiently repeated the "Pump your legs in and out" mantra time and time again, and she'd pump them all right; just not at the right time, or with her legs together for that matter.
There she'd sit; a still leaf in an otherwise fast flow.
I don't suppose I need to paint the picture of frustration that this caused for her. Or for us. For her it was something just out of her reach; for us it seemed like something she should have learned already, even though I know perfectly well that's not true.
But as I've written before (Star Child), Caedance is the one who decides when she will learn to do anything that is to be learned. On her own terms.
And today was The Day.
After dinner, she went out to the swing and sat on it. Motionless. Alone. Then she began letting herself glide slowly forward and backward, going with the gentle ebb and flow of the swing's natural motion. Dan and I watched in silence as she sat out there, feeling out the swing, waiting for her moment to take over and 'Swing Forth'.
And she did.
Oh how she did.
Legs pumping, arms bending; her face a radiant beam of light. Squeals of delight echoed through our backyard as she mastered a skill which previously eluded her. On her terms.
"Mom! Look at me! Look at me!" she squealed time and time again.
Look. At. Me.
Yes, my darling little girl. Look at you. You are one ball of precious potential, wrapped up in a package worthy of our absolute attention and love. You and your sister need only be exactly who you are. Just who you are. Because that, my hearts, is more than enough for me.
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| Look At Me! |
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| Swing Savvy Sisters |
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