(43-162) WHAT A GIRL!

When it comes to Kelsie, ya never know what you're gonna get; and it's not just because she's seven years old; it's because she's KELSIE!  Kelsie has been a force to be reckoned with since the moment that she was conceived.  She is wise beyond her years, temperamental as the day is long, stubborn, loving, considerate, perceptive, persistent and forthright.  Blah, blah, blah, blah blah.  I could go on and on and list every adjective there is; but for the sake of brevity; YES, brevity; I'll just leave the description at that; so that you can understand that she is unpredictable at best.  The ONLY thing that you can count on with Kels is that you never know how she's going to react or what she's going to do.  When you think something will bother her she shrugs it off; and when you think something isn't a big deal, she can give a world is coming to an end performance, worthy of an Academy award nomination.

Case in point...  Sunday night I decided to make 2 dinners; Chicken Parmigiana and meatballs.  The chicken parm was going to be for Sunday dinner, and the meatballs were going to be for a couple of nights during the week.  Well, several months ago, I taught the girls how to roll the meatballs, so I enlisted their help in doing so; while I prepared the chicken.  The girls had five pounds of meat that they needed to make into meatballs, and I thought that everything was going along fine, until I heard Kelsie say quizzically, "You put meat on my face?"  Lyndzi and I both burst out laughing at the same time; and Kelsie's hysterics immediately ensued.  The more that Lyndzi and I laughed, the louder Kelsie wailed.  I tried to explain that I didn't think that it was funny that Lyndzi had put meat on her face; and in between laughs, I told Lyndzi that she shouldn't have done that.  I tried to explain to Kelsie that I had only laughed because the way that she said "You put meat on my face,"  was so funny.  She didn't seem to care what I had to say.  She was already too invested in her meltdown; so I told her to go to her room to calm down.  After a few minutes, I sent Lyndzi up to apologize, but Kelsie wouldn't hear it.  Shortly thereafter, I tired to talk to her again; but she was just too far gone.  When she finally relented and came downstairs; I asked if she wanted to finish making her meatballs, but she wouldn't answer me.  I calmly asked the same question three times; but when she refused to speak, I took it upon myself to make the remainder of the meatballs.
A few minutes later, as I was cooking, Kelsie came over, still quite teary eyed, and said that she wanted to make the meatballs.  I explained that I had already finished, and that she would have to make them next time, and with that, she jumped up and down a number of times and screamed that she wanted to make the meatballs.  I couldn't believe my eyes. 
Kelsie needed to cool off; literally, so she took her little self out to the backyard and stood there in her misery.  Nicky and Lyndzi went out to join her; and when she felt calm enough, she came in and told me that she had wanted to make the meatballs and she asked if I would flatten some of the meat, so that SHE could make them.  I told her that I was very sorry that she had gotten so upset, but I wasn't going to flatten the meat and give her a chance to make them, after the way that she'd behaved.  She tried to convince me to do it; but I held my ground.  I reminded her that I had asked her three times and she had refused to answer me; and that people who carry on as she had, do not get their way.  She gave me a big hug, and apologized and by dinner time she was back to her calmer self.

When Kelsie got up for school on Monday morning; she was uncustomarily agreeable; so I wondered what was up.  I commented that I liked how cooperative she was being, and she was pleased.  When I picked her up from school, the positive behavior continued; as it did all day Tuesday and Wednesday; and although I didn't want to jinx it, or call attention to it; I was compelled to ask Kelsie about her marvelous mood.  She said that she'd noticed it as well and that she didn't know why she was behaving as nicely as she had been, but she liked it.

Now like I said before, Kelsie can turn out an Academy award winning performance; so when she's all sweetness and light; I do take it with a grain of salt; BUT, she said something to me last night, that just blew my mind and warmed my heart and even though I'm often impressed by Kelsie, this time I was in awe. 
I had told Kelsie that her friend Natalia, could spend the night on Friday night.  Kels asked if she should come home from school with her, and I explained that we might have pedicure appointments, so we should probably pick her up once we were done.  Now, it's important for you to know that Kelsie was going to pay for her own pedicure, with some of the birthday / Christmas money that she'd received and when I pointed out that it wouldn't be fun for Natalia to sit through our pedicures, Kelsie said, "well, I could treat her."  And my heart smiled.  What generosity, what thoughtfulness, what compassion; WHAT A GIRL!  I told Kelsie that I was SO proud of her for suggesting that, but I didn't think that it was necessary; and she was OK with that.

Oh Kelsie is my little roller coaster.  We go up, we go down, we scream at the top of our lungs, and we laugh; and seriously, I wouldn't change a thing.  Kelsie is a feisty little individual; who does as she pleases.  So I guess that it should have come as no surprise, that when we got our pedicures tonight; Kelsie chose two colors, a deep green blue, and a neon pink, and she had Jenny at Pure Elements, use both colors on alternating toes; AND put white polka dots on each toe.  I suggested that she settle on one color; but she knew EXACTLY what she wanted; and since it was her money; I wasn't going to try and change her mind.  In the long run, her toes looked terrific; and they truly represent exactly who she is; an original, a free thinker; MY DAUGHTER!

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING