Meltdowns

Yesterday the YaYa Sister had a complete meltdown over colour coordination. The problem lay in the fact that the blue marker lid was on the green marker. She was trying her best to shove another lid on, but the marker was smaller and it wouldn't fit. Thus: a nervous breakdown. Like, crying and shrieking in absolute heartbreak and grief. It only improved when the green lid of the correct size was located and put back in its rightful place. Tears still shining on her face, YaYa spent another twenty minutes taking it off and putting it back on.

I was surprised by this for a couple of reasons. One is that I didn't realize that my nineteen-month-old girl was so skilled at distinguishing colours. Who knew? She's achieving milestones and we aren't even seeing it. But the other thing that surprised me was her ferocity about the colours needing to be right. It's like she already has this innate sense about when things just shouldn't be. And it's strong. I love that. My fierce little girl protecting the integrity of markers everywhere. I wonder whether she'll go berserk over the way I coordinate my clothes one day. I remember my friend Laura, who was (and still is) Queen of matching her shoes and belt, literally begging me to change my clothing before we went out on the town. I was wearing a floral crocheted brown and orange vest over a lavendar and magenta flowered mumu and jeans. I guess it was a little mind-boggling. What would YaYa think? She'd probably end up in tears on the floor.

Or maybe it's a little too early to tell. All I know is that her unshakable will is making its way to the surface of her little self. I can see now that she is not, and never will be, her brother. He's always been pretty easy to persuade. He just wants to comply, and although we've had struggles, we can usually convince him (with a little bit of shameless parental manipulation) to do the things that we need him to do. (You know, like "Look Kid A, Daddy's eating his oatmeal. Aren't you glad that you can eat oatmeal too?" Or "Hey Kid A, how many bites do you think it will take you to finish your food? Ten? Maybe eleven?" These things really work with Kid A.) But YaYa is absolutely sure of herself. Her self-confidence is astounding and she knows exactly what she wants. This can be very helpful, as when she literally puts herself to bed when she's tired. Or, it can be extremely difficult, as when I absolutely can't convince her that it would be fun to whisper when we're at a funeral. She takes a little more work.

Since we're visiting friends right now in Canada, we've had so many opportunities to meet our friends' children, (who are huge after four years) and see such an assortment of personalities in them all. What an amazing thing. You have all these friends, and then they all multiply, and suddenly there are just so many people in your life. It boggles the mind. Anyways, I just had the opportunity to meet the little girl of a great old friend of mine. She's half a year older than Kid A, but in personality is a lot like the YaYa Sister. It was cool to see what happens later on, now that this little girl's personhood has taken root and marinated a little more. I almost can't take my eyes off of her, this little person so full of spunk and ideas. I can see that all the work we put into YaYa will be so, so worth it.