The Eldest

Back to my love posts...

Today it's all about Maya.

 

There are so many reasons to love this girl.

I love that she still thinks I'm cool.

I love how she loves to read and has finally decided to take on reading the Harry Potter books.

I love how she tells me everything. She doesn't know how to be sneaky, it's just not in her nature. I so hope that lasts...

I love how much she loves Camden. I know that he is too young to realize it, but he has the most loving and attentive big sisters on the planet.

I love that she is a hard worker. I am so proud of the way she has pushed and applied herself in math. That subject has been very difficult for her but she has worked very hard and it has paid off.

I love that she is nine. I am so scared of ten. I can see the light bulb going on, and how her mind is developing and understanding things that I don't want her to know yet.  Like how some girls, and boys, are just plain mean.  I hate that I have to talk to her about big stuff, like how there is a registered s. offender in our neighborhood. I hate that I have to explain the evil of slavery and see her eyes show pain an she processes what that meant for so many people. And that she understands that it could have been Camden being stolen from his mother had he been born back then. I hate having to explain why Mormons were beaten, killed and driven from their homes for their beliefs. This stuff is heavy but she is at the age where she can see the world for what it really is and that is so, SO hard for me.

On the other hand...I get to watch her face light up when she figures a math problem out all on her own. I get to watch her pull out her scriptures and read from because she wants to read them. I get to hear her pray and talk to God, knowing that he is her Heavenly Father. She knows that he is real and that he is listening. I get to see how she appreciates Martin Luther King Jr, in a way that many kids her age don't. I get to see her laugh at her dad's jokes now that she understands his humor. I get to see sense of gratitude and respect that is beyond her years.

So these days I am trying to cherish every moment,while all three of my children are still "little". Don't get me wrong, I do look forward to the years to come, the dances, the clothes, the boys, and the late night talks. I know they are just around the corner. But today, and tonight, and for as long as I can, I will soak up the snuggles and the pig tails and everything else that is my sweet nine year old Maya.