Sarcasm Is Its Own Language

            Sorry I'm late putting the blog up. Pulled muscle in my back (I really can't do laundry without hurting myself anymore), grocery shopping, and a very long but entertaining trip to the local amusement park kept me away from my electronic devices yesterday. But alas here is this weeks terrifying moment in parenting.
         
            I think every parent has the same thought at some point or another regarding their child, "Please don't let me screw them up!" I studied criminal justice and psychology in college so my fear might be a little more focused and specific than others. We all bring our personal backgrounds into how we raise our children and our specific fears and goals for them. Every day since I first found out I was pregnant my two main thoughts have been, "Let her be safe and don't let me screw her up too bad!" I'll come back to this through out the blog, because like I said it's my main fear regarding parenting.

            This week Ducky helped allay the fear that she would some how be too scared/regimented to express herself (while also making me terrified of her teenage years). She has mastered the seldom seen and always formidable nonverbal sarcasm, without any eye rolling! The other day she figured out how to use a pen (and I had thought nothing would ever beat the amount of "click-click click-click" you hear during final exams), this of course led to the lovely scribble art work we all have. After working on her artwork for a few minutes Ducky looked to the wall besides her. I of course advise her (aka yell in a panicked voice) that she can't draw on the walls only on the paper. Her response was to stare at me for a few seconds, take the paper off the box that doubles as a table, put the paper on the wall, and start scribbling on the paper all while maintaining eye contact. I was equal parts relieved that she knew she could sass me, amused at her comedic timing, and amazed that she mastered nonverbal sarcasm.

            It also turns out that this lack of fear in expressing her opinion also extends to strangers (Hooray! it's not just me!). Yesterday we went to our local amusement park for a fun filled day of games, rides, greasy food that's horrible for you, and last but not least the water park. After a leisurely walk through the park (she made my sister's boyfriend carry her half the way), a nutritious lunch (there have to be nutrients somewhere in bacon cheese fries!) and a few recreational games (no I don't feel bad beating a 5 yr old to win my daughter a giant purple unicorn!),  we made our way to the water park. Got everyone changed into their swimsuits and sprayed down with sunscreen (we're very pasty and I'm still trying to find a way to just fill a paint sprayer with spf100 sunscreen). After deciding the waves in the wave pool weren't fun because she had to wear a life vest we made our way to the kiddie pool area.

                    Here my little bundle of terror scared me by running to every water dispensing apparatus they had to play, climbing in and out of the pool yelling her new favorite phrase "I do it!" (be honest that's the one sentence that makes you proud and sad all at once), and attempting to swim like the big kids were. When the life guard blew the whistle I scooped her up telling her we had to get out of the pool, she responded with her new favorite word, "Why?".  I tried to explain that we can't be in the pool without the lifeguard there to keep us safe, she proceeded to look at the lifeguard and order him to stay (I didn't even know she knew the word stay). She finally calmed down when she saw all of her animal friends waiting for her in the stroller but there for a minute I thought she was going to lead a revolt of toddlers and babies that wanted to keep playing in the water.
         
                 So this week she showed me she's not afraid to let me and others know what she's thinking. This seems very small but it means she is not afraid of my reaction and trusts that I will listen and respond to her wants and needs. Hopefully she always believes this.