Just call me Grasshopper: Lessons from a 7 year old Master

About a week ago I posted this to The Twitter:

“Today I am in breathless awe of my child. I learned some really big, truly amazing, & very important things about life thanks to her.”

So true was this thought, so intense was this feeling; that I felt a visceral imperative to write it down and send it ‘out there’.

One of the really big lessons was about trusting myself as a mama, trusting that I know my kid and that we are "in tune" with one another much of the time. The second part of this lesson is trusting her and knowing that when she is allowed to be truly herself, she feels safe and happy and can accomplish great things.

Another very important lesson is this: Yes I Can!

Last week we were a couple of hours away from heading to a play date and Pony Girl turned to me and said, "I want to sew a dress Mama."
"Ok," says I, "Maybe tomorrow we can try."
"No, now! I want to make a dress for my play date."
"Honey, we don't have time, we can't make a dress right now." I reply.
"Yes I can!" She says with absolute certainty.
"I'm sorry honey, we can't."
So she walks up to me, cups my face in her hands and says, "It's o.k. mom, trust me. Yes I can."

And she did!
We made a sketch, chose the fabric, had a plan and just started. She has used my sewing machine only once before to sew a simple square of fabric, but this was a whole dress! I did the ironing parts and she, this amazing kid, sewed every seam, hem, and detail on her dress! Going slow, "It is important to be careful and slow so I make less mistakes." she says. Her concentration is total. I tell her to keep the fabric straight and...and...hover. She tells me, "Mom, I got it, don't worry, relax!"

Why am I so surprised? She told me she could do it, she knew she could do it, and she did. Not only is my crafty mama's heart bursting with pride that my 7 year old made her very first dress, but my lion mama heart wants to show and tell the world what this awesome kid has done! More specifically, I want to show her 1st grade teacher. The one who said she couldn't focus, the one who wanted to wash her hands of her when she couldn't force the results she wanted out of Pony Girl, the one who said she belonged in an alternative placement classroom (I visited 2 of those classrooms) where she so very obviously did not fit the criteria, and the one who made her feel less than.

As I watch her play with her friends, overhear her say, "Sure, I can make you a dress too!" as she walks up to kids on the playground and introduces herself and asks if they want to play...I want to tell that teacher that her tremendous concern over Pony Girl's lack of social skills is entirely unfounded.

See, if you listen to them, if you trust them, if you encourage them, if you let them be themselves, if you can shift your perspective and really see them, if you believe in them - they might just believe in themselves.

Yes, I learned that from her. I keep learning how truly amazing life is, how good it can be despite all of the challenges; how sometimes when we learn how to navigate through some of those challenges, we find out we are the heroes of our own lives.

She is my hero!