Letting Her

While eating dinner, J and I were commiserating over Little Miss's INTENSE independent streak and Her new, very hard-core insistence that She will ONLY eat food if She feeds HERSELF...with a fork or spoon.  Otherwise known as a "catapult".
We were trying to do it for Her (rejected) to just get it over with without coating all four walls with rice (lazy), and simultaneously attempting to feed ourselves (to go for the double-fail), when Little One (the constant observer) piped up.

"Hey guys? If you just will let Her do it Herself, She will do it."

If we'd just let Her do for Herself, She would.
Something we know, something we believe. Something we were much better about respecting when there was just the one catapult to clean up after.  But, nonetheless.  Something that is true.

Sheepishly, we followed the three-year-old's advice.  We let go of the spoon.  We let go of the clean walls.  We let Her go.

And Little Miss?  Dipped that silver tool into Her lima beans and fed Herself.

There was some mess, true.  But.  Everyone got fed (even us).  Everyone was happy (even us).  And Missy practiced something that She needs to know how to do, that She wants to know how to do.  That She deserves to do Herself.

To me, this is another reminder of the wisdom of children, and also of the balance of life.  Sure, with the first kiddo we were more careful to do some of the things we "should" than we are with this second Little.  But.  If we do slack off a bit this time around...well.  We always have number one to get us back in line.