Pancake Breakfast

My Maddie is seven years old now, and I feel like she is changing from my innocent little girl into a young lady with her own opinions.  One example of how this is becoming evident to me is in our typical morning routine.  Mornings prove to be a difficult time for us and one of the main issues is her clothes!!!  Yes, already at seven years old.  However, it is not because of how her clothes look, but how they feel.   She doesn’t like how her tights feel so I bought her some long socks to wear instead (she has to wear a dress to chapel on Wed.).  Apparently, those are no good either because they fall down during the day.   Her pants ride too low, her panties feel funny, and her shoes are not tight enough.  Seriously???  So every morning we talk about one of these clothing issues, not to mention we are always in a hurry.   With all of that going on, mornings are usually extremely frustrating for all of us.  

So today, after another frantic rush to find a comfortable oufit and get her off to school, I had the thought to surprise her with a pancake breakfast- just the two of us!  So when I dropped Ada Grace and Jake off at preschool, I got Maddie out of class and told her the we were going out for pancakes.  You would have thought I was taking her to Carowinds by her response.  She was excited to miss phonics and simply “break the rules” by leaving in the middle of the school day.  We were only gone for an hour, but I think she will always remember our pancake breakfast.  She talked the entire car ride to Cracker Barrel and then I allowed her to order Sprite and pancakes for breakfast.  As we were waiting for our food I asked, “Maddie what should we talk about?”  She said, “Mom, how was American Idol last night?”  What, was my little baby girl really asking me about American Idol?  I feel like our relationship is changing and I’m not so good with change.  She desires more mature conversations now and is old enough for us to have them.   I feel unsure of myself as a mother.  I was confident when it came to parenting her as a toddler, and up through age seven apparently.  I could discipline with time out or spanking.  I could play Barbies, play-doh, and read books to interact with her.  Not anymore, she is more into watching Hannah Montana, playing with her friends, listening to music, playing basketball, cheerleading, and reading chapter books TO Me!!  I think I am realizing I need to become more dependent on Christ as I face my insecurities as a mother and run to His word for wisdom.

Today I wanted Maddie to know that I enjoy spending time with her and that she is a priority to me.  I told her I loved her and I affirmed some of the personality traits I love about her- how friendly she is to everyone, her positive outlook in life, her leadership potential, the way she helps care for Ada Grace and Jake.  I may not know what I am doing at this stage in her life as a mother but I am determined to figure it out with God’s help!!