Determination

When I was a kid, third grade I believe, I had a book about Sleeping Beauty and it said in small letters that it was a story about determination. I always had a hard time saying that word, but an even harder time understanding the word. I have no problem understanding now. 

According to dictionary.com:  

de·ter·mi·na·tion/diˌtərməˈnāSHən/Noun

1. Firmness of purpose; resoluteness.

2. The process of establishing something exactly, typically by calculation or research. 

I am talking about the first definition. 

A while back, we found a small sunflower plant growing in the cracks of the concrete by the back door. My first reaction was to pull it up. Miaya saw it before I did that and asked what sort of plant it was. I told her. She thought it was so amazing and it became HER sunflower. And so, of course, I did not pull it up. We (Dustin and I) are such suckers for stuff like this. Earlier in the year, Miaya adored the dandelions, and so we left them for a bit longer because she enjoyed them so much. Anyway, so back to the sunflower. We have let it grow, and so now it looks like this:

This sunflower was determined to grow. Can you see where it is growing? Out of a crack. It wanted it enough to grow and exist. Awesome.I don't water it, I don't do anything to it. I just let it grow. Miaya checks on it most days and often comments on how well it is growing, how big its getting, etc. So fun.

Another determined thing, or more accurately, person in my life? My Sarah girl. If I had to describe her in only one word, determination would be it. She does not give up EVER. It can be difficult sometimes. Like when it's bedtime and she's not ready for sleep. Or when she wants my glasses and won't stop taking them off my face, or even when she wants to play and it's the middle of sharing time, and I'm teaching, so she can't. But it is such a huge part of who she is and so, very much a part of her I love. I mean, how can your resist this?

 I can't. hahahaha. 

Now, my Miaya girl is also determined. Stubborn, obstinate, whatever you'd like to call it. But hers has only shown up in the last year or two. She is my laid back kid for the most part. She loves to play. Play is her life. Take away play, and she is a most unhappy girl. She is the kid that always gives way to what the other kids want to do, because she really doesn't care, as long as she's playing. Like I said, though, she has this crazy stubborn streak in which if she does not get to do what she feels she needs to (sometimes it's something as simple as brushing her teeth BEFORE brushing her hair, instead of the other way around) the whole house is in an uproar because Miaya is unhappy. 

And yet, again, it's a part of her growing up, becoming who she's becoming, and so I love it. Not in the moment, but I have high hopes this determination in both my kids will continue on in other aspects of their life as they grow and get older.

Life is hard. But life is so good.