My not so little girl

Leah came home just brimming with knowledge tonight. When she walked in from her dance class with her Granddaddy, she was very proud to show me her sticker that said "I shine". She told me that she earned it along with only one other girl because she did her Recital Tap routine so well. This is especially notable because only a couple months ago she was sure she was through with dance. She seemed to have lost that excitement over the whole thing, but I told her to stick with it, and once they got to learning their new dances it would be fun, and thank goodness I was right. This was one of those valuable lessons of learning to stick through the monotonous to get to the reward.

At dinner we have taken to turning off any cartoons so that we can talk with the girls and find out what has happened during the day. The fewer distractions also tend to help when we're convincing one of them to eat their vegetables. On this particular night we were talking about President Barack Obama's Inaugural today. Leah said that they did get to see some of the ceremony at school, and she was sure there were at least three thousand people there, maybe a bit shy of the final number, but she understood that it was a big deal. The girls all cheered, "Yeah, President Obama!", and I was proud that they understood in their own way that it was a very special day to be an American. In keeping in line with all of the Presidential discussions, she added that she thought she would like to be President someday. She asked if I thought a woman could be president, and I said "Well, of course!" So she has her goals set.

Leah continued the conversation, saying that they also talked about Martin Luther King today at school. I asked her what she learned. She said that he was a man that wanted everyone to be treated equally. She said that it didn't matter what color your skin was, that we were all the same. She said that she had friends that might be different shades, but that they were all kids, and she was glad that she could play with them. It was one of those unbelievable chances to listen and teach your child, and I was so proud of her wisdom at six years old. I will say that while I think she grasped the big idea somewhat, she also mentioned that Dr. King wanted everyone to share and that if she had a cookie, that she should share it. Okay, so we might have some work to truly grasp the whole thing, but she has the concept.

After her bath, I came back from the barn, and she asked me to sit with her while she was watching cartoons. I said, "Do you mind if I look at the Inauguration and I'll turn it back?" She said that's okay Mommy, I think I'm starting to like the grown-up shows better anyway. Okay, I'm not sure what went on today, but I told her she's not allowed to grow up so fast!