Independence is an amazing thing. You want it throughout your life, whether you are Shea’s age (9 mos) or my age 39, you want some kind of independence. IF, (I say if in my case) and when you get it, you can just see the confidence in your eyes. Recently Shea began to crawl. At first it was a tentative crawl with a look of “how did I get here” when she stopped (typically going backwards). Now, she’s discovered it’s a mode of transportation and she’s starting to appreciate it. She has found that by crawling she can participate in a different way – she get in Reilly’s and Kate’s stuff, and she likes it.

Kate, her independence, well that’s all she is. She marches to the beat of her own drum – does things on her own, dresses herself and constantly weighs in when she doesn’t like what she is doing. Her confidence amazes me in that regard. She just looks at me, says “no, I don’t want to” AND I think it’s hysterical (although I try to conceal that) and love it. I’m amazed and intrigued by this little girl and I admire her confidence so much. She walked into preschool today (late as usual) all the other kids were going about their business and she let go of my hand, walked away and said “hi everybody”. A few of them said “hi Kate” and two girls came over to her and said “look at my shirt” and “do you see my sparklies”. I don’t know where I could have gotten such a person but she makes my day.

Reilly, he’s independent because he sits and looks at a playmobil magazine for hours, he can play outside with is trucks forever, he pretty much taught himself to ride a bike without training wheels at four. He certainly likes other kids around him and likes to be wanted and is sensitive but he is a responsible, overly thoughtful independent kid who cares so deeply about his effect on his environment. He takes it upon himself to recycle cardboard boxes, find bins for his toys, and just keep up with his stuff. His independence is so different than Kate’s.

Everyday I find myself amazed and intrigued by all of them. I love to watch how differently they go about their day and their projects, even when they are the same.