Two Little Girls

When my daughter, Lindsey, was three, we had our first stand off. She was in the bathtub and she was kicking water out on to the floor. I went in and told here to stop and before I could leave she splashed water, not only on the floor, but on me. She did so with a defiant smirk. I snatched her out of the water and took her straight to our bedroom and set her on the bed, still wet and naked.

I told her that when she said she was sorry, I would let her get dressed. She screamed and yelled and rolled around. It was my big test. I would either win this or she would control the house. A true alpha dog moment! It took one hour and 45 minutes. At one point I said, "Why can't you just say that you are sorry?" She stared at me and replied, "Its too hard!" (A 3 year old's exact words)

At almost two hours when I was about to crater, she finally started crying and said, "I'm sorry."

At that moment I understood the meaning of Strong Willed Child.

Funny thing happened this week. Lindsey took her little girl to the doctor. Kinley is only 7 months old. As the doctor tried to examine her, she rolled and screamed and tossed and prevented him from his job. It took both Lindsey and the Doctor to hold her down so that he could check her vitals. She had other plans. When the Doctor finally finished he asked, "Who was the strong willed child? Her or her husband?" Lindsey just had to laugh.

Pay Back so soon!