“Who’s your favorite Muppet, Brianne?”

“Hermitty the Frog!”

She still has no idea why that’s so funny.

If I had a dollar for every time I was told by Father Abbot Jerome (RIP) told me to “Be a leader” during Catholic grade school, I’d truly be wealthy.  In elementary school, I understood his Mike Tyson goldfish joke more than I understood the true sentiment of the phrase.  However, over time it became my mantra in life.  An important piece of information that is often mistaken to be something simply digested.  Pretty much everyone knows they’re supposed to be true to themselves, follow their heart, find what their passionate about…blah, blah, blah.  But who actually does it?  One out of 5 people?  Just a random guess.  But definitely not everybody.

For some it takes a lifetime to truly appreciate themselves and accomplish an adequate level of self worth.  For others, they seem born with the ability to lead a crowd…start a trend…be bold and walk to the beat of their own drum.  I’d love to say I’ve been one of those people my whole life…and maybe from the outside looking in, to some, I have always been one.  But no one is immune to the practicality of life in general.  I think it’s funny how those silly Muppet’s emulate so many facets of this.

With my oldest in Pre-School, now…I’m, of course, on guard about bullying and making friends and being nice and learning abc’s and everything else that takes mom’s into hyper-drive when their little tots leave their gaze for more than an hour or two at time.  Is she going to model the behavior I teach her at home…is she going to be nice to ALL the kids in her class or just her BFF…is she going to be a rule breaker…blah blah blah.  Wonder. Wonder.Wonder.

Until days like today.  When I picked her up from school and got the ever-dreaded “can you come here” from the teacher.  Thankfully, she’s in the most awesome pre-school with the most awesome teachers…seriously…but still…I felt like I was being flashed forward to a phone call from the high school principal’s office in 10 years.  Brianne’s already been reprimanded for talking too much during circle time (the only 15 minutes out of the entire time they have to be quiet…and she can’t…what a shocker…flashbacks to getting my seat moved in school for the same reason…all…the…time.), but today she had a “meltdown.”  Self induced, since she choose to ignore the “time to pick up” bell…and three warnings…Apparently, this was some picture she had visualized to make me.  God help us if we’ve interrupted the next Picasso…but I’m pretty sure he had to listen to grown ups, too.

Not sure how she’ll survive 2 days with out her Barbie’s as a result…she decided to follow up with a lunch time performance of ‘I’m going to throw my plate across the room like my baby sister does to make sure she does it too…then tell mom baby sister threw them both. ‘ Now, she’s napping…wondering how she’ll make it two days without her Barbie’s and her Tinkerbell fairies.  No yelling…no spanking…I’ve only got energy for matter of factually taking crap away, now…and the power of the naughty list.  That was a tear jerk-er….not for me, people.  Not for me.  “Brianne, who else knows when you do bad and good things?”  ….”Um…sniffle, sniffle…God, and baby Jesus, and Santa.”  …it’s painful not to laugh, sometimes.

Being a jibber- jabber my entire life…at a pretty high volume…I can’ be surprised by the amount and volume of all that my daughters have to share with me, vocally.  However, I can ever so slightly (even if some days only through a lot of prayers for help…lol) steer the direction in which they channel all that jibber jabber.  Like today.  “No matter how important what you think you are doing is, following the rules that grown ups make takes precedent.” (Listen…she tattles on her sister for ‘antagonizing’ her.  she’ll digest what ‘precedent’ means.)

“…but Mom…”

Always a ‘but.’  Because someone else always did it first, or said it was okay, or thought it was funny, etc…etc…etc.

“Don’t blame others.  Take it upon yourself to stop…do the right thing…and they will follow.  I promise you that.  You’re pretty cool.  Their going to want to hang out with you.”

That last part is true…partial mom or not.  This kid has amazing potential.  It’s a lot of pressure as a mom to guide her in the right direction so she reaches that potential.  She’s been bothering me for a year to teach her how to read and write so that she can write her own story.  At UofM last week, she tells us without hesitation she wants to be a writer.  That was always…and still is…my dream.  I’ve never been so touched in my life than when she …uninfluenced or given the choice as an answer…just stated that was her dream.  Maybe passing down the ‘Be a leader’ mantra won’t be as hard as I thought.  Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve underestimated how brilliant Brianne is.  Here she is, 3 years old… more confident and assured than I’ve been my entire life.  How exciting, to watch a young little dreamer start to reach for her star and pull it down.  I’ll be the ladder, no questions asked.  Teach her to lead?  Nah.  She’s a natural.  (…and a big thank you above for that.)

Go get ’em, kid…

Happy Writing.