Anyone who has ever had the slightest encounter with A-Cat knows my father's nickname for her is quite fitting, especially this time of year. The Human Firecracker can go from an innocent sparkler - so pretty and fun loving - to a deadly M-80 - ready to rip your fingers off dare you make one wrong move - in about the same time it takes for one Black Cat to explode.
A-Cat is a wonderful little girl, but she is what psychologists refer to as a "strong-willed" child. Anyone who has read the "The Strong-Willed Child" by Dr. James C. Dobson will know exactly what I am talking about! She isn't defiant by most standards. She is usually most happy to comply with any order given (that is: she is happy to comply if she wants to). It isn't in her blood to be disobedient. It is in her personality to be the leader.
When I attended parent-teacher conferences at her new preschool, the teacher told me the other children use to just run and play on the equipment at recess. Since A-Cat has been there, they now follow along with her elaborate stories finding treasures and bad guys and various other mysteries to solve! Look out Velma and Scooby, there's a new sleuth in town!
My little darling is an only child (and most likely will be for all time). She has spent most of her existence surrounded by adults - listening and conversing with them at a very advanced level. She now sees adults as her peers rather than her classmates or other children. She once told her preschool teacher who was trying to get her to nap (nap time is another story) that "You're not the boss of me!" So DH and I are working to teach her respect for authority.
Not only is she smart, she is smart enough to manipulate adults. Where I once would not flinch at the request of 15 hugs post bed-time (what mother could deny the plea for a hug?), there are no longer anyhugs and kisses given once her little peanut head hits the pillow. Nor do I give into her requests to have her music turned back on multiple times. Amazingly one incident of each solved the problem!
One night A-Cat came tip-toeing in and asked for another "huggy please". I simply but firmly said, "You are to be sleeping now. I gave you a big hug and kiss at bed time. Go to sleep and you can have all the hugs and kisses you want in the morning." With her head hung low, she shuffled back to bed.
The next night, she came in asking to have her music turned back on (she listens to the They Might Be Giants "NO!" CD at bed time - a FANTASTIC CD!) I informed her that I had already turned it on the first time and that was her chance to fall asleep to the music. "Daddy turned it on the first time!' she quipped back. "Well then," I said, "You have had two chances to fall asleep to your music. There will not be another chance. Go to bed and go to sleep." This time the low-hung head and shuffling feet didn't pull at my heart as hard.
I must admit there have been times I have wished for a child with a milder personality - Give me a smoke-bomb or one of those black snakes! Think how easy it would be! Think how boring it would be. A-Cat makes us laugh - milk-out-the-nose laugh! She is a beautiful girl and I really think it's the horns and tail hiding beneath that give her that spark - the charm that draws people to her! She has been that way since birth, and I have no doubt she will be that way until the day heads up to the pearly gates! And just know when she hits those pearly gates, there will be a fireworks display so grand that even the biggest scrooge will know something special just happened!
A-Cat is a wonderful little girl, but she is what psychologists refer to as a "strong-willed" child. Anyone who has read the "The Strong-Willed Child" by Dr. James C. Dobson will know exactly what I am talking about! She isn't defiant by most standards. She is usually most happy to comply with any order given (that is: she is happy to comply if she wants to). It isn't in her blood to be disobedient. It is in her personality to be the leader.
When I attended parent-teacher conferences at her new preschool, the teacher told me the other children use to just run and play on the equipment at recess. Since A-Cat has been there, they now follow along with her elaborate stories finding treasures and bad guys and various other mysteries to solve! Look out Velma and Scooby, there's a new sleuth in town!
My little darling is an only child (and most likely will be for all time). She has spent most of her existence surrounded by adults - listening and conversing with them at a very advanced level. She now sees adults as her peers rather than her classmates or other children. She once told her preschool teacher who was trying to get her to nap (nap time is another story) that "You're not the boss of me!" So DH and I are working to teach her respect for authority.
Not only is she smart, she is smart enough to manipulate adults. Where I once would not flinch at the request of 15 hugs post bed-time (what mother could deny the plea for a hug?), there are no longer anyhugs and kisses given once her little peanut head hits the pillow. Nor do I give into her requests to have her music turned back on multiple times. Amazingly one incident of each solved the problem!
One night A-Cat came tip-toeing in and asked for another "huggy please". I simply but firmly said, "You are to be sleeping now. I gave you a big hug and kiss at bed time. Go to sleep and you can have all the hugs and kisses you want in the morning." With her head hung low, she shuffled back to bed.
The next night, she came in asking to have her music turned back on (she listens to the They Might Be Giants "NO!" CD at bed time - a FANTASTIC CD!) I informed her that I had already turned it on the first time and that was her chance to fall asleep to the music. "Daddy turned it on the first time!' she quipped back. "Well then," I said, "You have had two chances to fall asleep to your music. There will not be another chance. Go to bed and go to sleep." This time the low-hung head and shuffling feet didn't pull at my heart as hard.
I must admit there have been times I have wished for a child with a milder personality - Give me a smoke-bomb or one of those black snakes! Think how easy it would be! Think how boring it would be. A-Cat makes us laugh - milk-out-the-nose laugh! She is a beautiful girl and I really think it's the horns and tail hiding beneath that give her that spark - the charm that draws people to her! She has been that way since birth, and I have no doubt she will be that way until the day heads up to the pearly gates! And just know when she hits those pearly gates, there will be a fireworks display so grand that even the biggest scrooge will know something special just happened!
The photo on this post is one we took of A-Cat last Summer. On our Journey home from Iowa, we came across an orphanage that had been torn down. Only the sign remained. We awoke a sleeping A-Cat and handed her a bag from the trunk. Momma-Cat couldn't resist this picture!
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