Sunday, October 15, 2006

Future Sweetie - Sweet or Sassy?

First off, my NH Blog Con report. The verdict? Relaxed, interesting and surprising. Relaxing because the setting was the informal lounge area of a favorite local restaurant. Interesting because Hubby and I got to meet lots of diverse bloggers with unique points of view. And surprising because the average age of those in the group seemed to be 40-ish or more. Huh. We thought we might be among the older of the attendees, not in the younger set. Still, all in all it was a fun evening and we look forward to next year's gathering.

Secondly, Sweetie did awesome at Grammy and Grampy's house. She fell asleep on the way over, so once we arrived she was sleepy and whiney, not wanting to have anything to do with anybody but Daddy. However, about 15 minutes after we got there, Grampy came home and Sweetie lit up. Cool! So Grampy got hugs, then everything was A-okay for the rest of the day. Hugs all around! When Sweetie's 20- month old cousin woke up from her nap (okay, was rescued from her upstairs alone time acrobatic workout routine), the two girls had a blast playing together. Also very cool. It was pretty much the first time the two of them really played together - running around the house while screeching at the top of their lungs, coloring, helping Grampy outside with some yardwork and playfully bossing each other around (I want her to follow me!, Sweetie complained to Grammy. ____, down! was the repeated demand made of Sweetie). Like Grammy noted, it will be interesting to see whose personality dominates whose as the two girls grow up.

Ya know, it's all part of one big question. What's Sweetie going to be like when she's older? Sweetie's two closest friends are both older than she (one is 6 years old, the other is about 10 months older than Sweetie). Because of this, and all the older cousins she has on my side of the family, I think Sweetie is used to playing the "follower" role, while her older friends and cousins enjoy their "leadership" role in the pairing. But with her young cousin, maybe Sweetie realizes that this is her chance to be the boss. Yet we've also seen touching examples of Sweetie taking Baby Cousin under her wing, treating her more gently and "mothering" her a bit (the two were absolutely adorable during a recent trip to the zoo. Baby Cousin would wander off and Sweetie would go after her, speak some gentle words of explanation - who knows what she was actually saying, since none of us were close enough to hear - and take her hand to lead her back to our group).

Also, what types of interests will dominate Sweetie's life? Currently she likes to do puzzles, play on the computer, play Play-doh, and build real and imaginary playlands. She's interested in numbers, learning the concepts of addition and subtraction. She claims to want to be a builder when she grows up. She loves being outdoors, helping Daddy or her grandfathers with cleaning up their yards or going on adventure walks with Nana or Grammy.

She doesn't really like to play dolls and she couldn't care less about all her stuffed animals - except her one Teddy. She likes to hold the occasional tea party and loves Dora. But I'd say those are just about the girliest things she holds dear. Yet if I ask her about her friends at school, she only tells me about her girl friends. I ask her if she ever plays with some of the boys. No, I only play with the girls. I don't like playing with the boys. They're not my friends, only the girls. I thought that comment was interesting. She's already feeling the pressure of boys against girls. And even though her interests tend more towards the physical activities, she's still more comfortable playing with the girls.

Yes, Grammy. I too am interested to see what type of little lady we have on our hands. A wild imagination + great vocabulary skills + a scientifically/
mathematically interested mind + a huge sense of adventure + no sense of fear + a healthy determination + creative/artistic genes stemming back many generations on both sides of the family = (hopefully) one well rounded, multi-talented, happy little girl and future woman ready to set the world on fire.

Not that, at almost 4-years old, I'm pushing her towards any one set of interests over the other. Nor do I think that her current set of interests are fated to determine the end all and be all of whomever she's going to become one day. But the myriad of possibilities does boggle my mind.

Happy and healthy. That's all I really want for her. Oh, and God help her if she truly is more mathematically inclined. Cuz that's going to be all her. Hubby can maybe help a little with geometry, but I won't be any help at all. Good luck to you, Sweetie, is all I can say.

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