“You’re only as happy as your unhappiest child”
I can’t take credit for that phrase but I can tell you I’ve lived it time and time again. I’m living it now. The transition to 3rd grade has been a difficult one for Abby. Both academically and socially. I know those of you who know her are shaking your heads right now- but I’m living with it. It’s not all bad, but there have been some rough days over here. These days our girl is worrying about saved seats on the bus and standardized testing, about who her real friends are, and why math facts just don’t make sense in her head. She’s digging deep for confidence some days but I’m right next to her with my mama bear shovel, doing what I can to help her through this. I’ll be honest, this phase of parenting is really hard. When they’re little, you’re with them all the time, you can protect them just by being present. But now, she’s out there in the world, learning how to navigate through her days with her head held high, without us to hold her hand. She’s also growing up a lot, and with that comes opening up to us more about things and listening to our gentle suggestions and advice. She asks me to tell her stories about when I was little, and “if I ever felt like I had no friends to talk to.” I do have those memories– we all do, so I share them with her and I can tell it makes her feel better to hear those chapters of my story as she learns to write the chapters of her own. She’s going to be okay. She’s got thick Santoro/MacInnes blood running through her, and we’re all pretty awesome.
Here she is, practicing piano (which is really a keyboard) for me this afternoon after a particularly good day at school 🙂
