Of Spiders and Such

One of the amazing things about being a parent is discovering who your children are. We can look at them as infants and think we know who they are, but when they start showing signs of being their own person, it is really fascinating to me.

Of all of my children, Boo is the most puzzling. She looks very much like I did when I was her age. My brother has made comments about her being a little "B." So because of that, I tend to think of her being just like me. This is not the case.

Boo is all girl. She loves dresses, babies, barbies, and all things girl. She likes crafts and cooking. She also loves eating good food. She also loves to sing!! She also has a great fear of spiders. We have joked with her that we will buy all kinds of Halloween things and throw her a birthday party with them as decorations. She saw a daddy long legs walking on my driveway and she gave us a blood curdling scream!! She has a love/hate relationship with our kitty. She loves to pet her, but if the kitty makes a sudden move, Boo will flinch. She also is not keen on jumping into the pool.

Boo loves her family. She is not the demonstrative type. But if you spend a little time with her, she will love you back with interest. I have seen a few people outside of our family do this and I am sure that they would agree with me. She is also very compassionate. You might think she is shy, but she is not so with people that she likes. While she is the quietest member of our family, she is not boring. In fact, she is quite interesting to talk to.

Boo is also very serious and practical. I took this photo to reflect that side of her personality. In a family full of silly people, she is always telling it like it is. She has a unique sense of humor, but she will not fall for any jokes. She also tells it like it is. She is up front an honest and will give you her opinion on anything. I remember that we once had a discussion onf someone we knew who did not like broccoli. My kids eat everything (well....except for their allergens). Everyone here eats all of their veggies. Well, Boo said in the most serious of tones, "If you didn't like broccoli, then you would be silly because broccoli is good for you!"

When she was small she had GERD and a hiatal hernia. Because of the hernia, she developed something called Sandifer Syndrome. This is a peculiar posturing that people do to relieve their symptoms. In her case, we would hold her in her arms and she would bend backwards away from us and end up kind of upside down and twisted. I'm telling you this because in some respects, she still has a different perspective on the world. It is as if she is still hanging upside down and looking at things from a different angle than the rest of us.

There is so much that I could say about my girl. She is a neat person and we went through so much together those first few years. It is really fun getting to know her.