That's my girl

 That's my daughter in the water,
everything she knows I taught her.
Everything she knows.
Everything I say
she takes to heart.

Everything she takes
she takes apart.
That's my daughter in the water
every time she fell I caught her.
Every time she fell.
That's my daughter in the water,
I lost every time I fought her.
Yea, I lost every time.

  -bob dylan

  I sing this to her often.  

Everything she does is a confirmation that she is her own individual.  My pre-Julia visions of what it would be like to have a daughter were never quite clear, but somehow I knew deep down that I'd have a little girl with a pixie haircut and a life-filled spirit.  How humbling to see traces of myself in this little one.  It gives me such a greater appreciation for my parents and it causes me to catch my breath before reacting.  I put my parents through the ringer, I might deserve a few of these moments of high-pitched tantrums with no real point to them.  

If you break parenthood down to its core, it's really quite an ironic task.  We go through childhood ourselves, we learn from our families, we meet our spouse, we blend our experiences to create our own family.  We are then granted this precious gift - a reflection of each of us, but vastly different in so many ways.    As often as I see images of myself in Julia, I am in awe of the qualities that are all her own.   The irony deepens as parenting causes you to grow up and become childlike simultaneously. On a daily basis my children seem to teach me so much more than what I can dish out as a parent.  When I view life through the lens of my children, it is so much brighter and holds so much more joy and adventure.  

Yesterday we were driving home from a few Saturday morning errands when I heard the "click" of Julia's top safety belt unlatching.  I sternly told Julia (for the one-hundredth time) that she was not to take off her seatbelt while we were driving.  Charles chimed in that it is against the law to take off your seatbelt and we must obey the law.  Julia quickly responded, "I don't obey the law, I only obey Jesus!"  

It was one of many moments that I am the one shaking my head.  Yep, Julia, you have it right.  Thank you for teaching me life through your terms.  Though you are a candid reflection of the Cirillo-Gray genes, you are uniquely your own.  Wonderfully made...
...with a little extra spice!