Girls

I wanted my first child to be a girl. I thought I might have the extra energy required to instill confidence and strength into her. This is my daughter. She is all girl...she hates spiders - Shreiks! She is grossed out by many things that she formerly found attractive. So I guess I accomplished what I hoped for. Girls have a complex set of emotional states that they run through periodically. I say periodically because I am not privy to the schedule. Confident vs insecure; playful vs taciturn; giggly vs miserly; happy to sad in nanoseconds. It frustrates me to no end to see the apparent confusion she experiences. I know I can "help" by simply continuing to be "available" to her. I know that most of the time I will not have a clue what I have done "right" or "wrong" in any given moment. I know that her feelings are as fragile as The Glass Menangerie.

Most importantly I know that she will most likely traverse this desert and safely arrive on the other side of this process called maturation. Mean while, I am ready for The Perfect Storm, if that is any way possible.