You know how with each age you approach brings new and exciting things? In the beginning, I thought seven just may be my favorite year yet. As we are scarily close to eight, I find myself wondering if eight is going to be great. Because seven … seven is exhausting! My daughter Lexi is my oldest baby and will be eight in December. When I tell you she broke the kid mold? I mean it. She’s a textbook first kid. Sure, she slept with us until she was three, but she eventually transitioned to her own bed. She potty trained herself by TWO. She is the best helper in the world with her siblings. I legitimately couldn’t parent without her. Now before you go and get all upset, she is still a seven year old kid, so she enjoys her childhood as well. She just also happens to adore her siblings and enjoys helping her parents.
Seven has brought the sass in full force.
She has ALLLLLL the feelings about ALLLLLLL the things. Sometimes I am just left scratching my head, wondering how we could be so upset over such a little thing. Occasionally (or frequently), I feel like I am losing my ever loving mind. Other times I look at her, and it’s like I am staring at myself as a kid. How can I be frustrated with her when she’s basically me? All the questions. Hard questions, too — not the easy ones. Did I mention the attitude? Holy. Attitude. Batman. It’s not very common, but some days I really think she is arguing and questioning me just because she can. Then anger and hatefulness toward her brother? Completely unnecessary.
Of course, along with the bad comes the good.
Yes, she may be more sassy and have harder questions. Along with that came more independence, more drive to do the things she loves, more loyalty, and so much love. Watching this little girl who was a newborn {a couple days ago} develop into a young lady right before my eyes is both fulfilling and rewarding. It makes every single hard and difficult day that I question how much therapy she is going to need from me raising her, worth it.
All these little things together can make you question if you are ruining your kid and what you’re doing wrong.
I have a few friends whose kids are pretty close in age to Lexi, and it seems they are all dealing with it. Both boys and girls too, so I think it is just an age thing. They have all these big questions and feelings in a little body and are trying to figure out our big (sometimes unfair) world, and that’s not an easy thing to walk through. Even though it’s not easy, we need to just love them through it – even if we have contemplated military school for the tenth time that week. We are laying the foundation of who our kids are going to be. That’s a big job, but you have exactly the child that you need and no one is more qualified than you. So stick it out with me and I will let you know if eight is great!