Audrey

She is my quirky, obsessive compulsive, temperamental, strong-willed child.  She loves structure and does not appreciate interruptions.  On Monday morning I happened to strike a nerve in several of the aforementioned categories.  Her tendency to be obsessive compulsive was aggravated by the fact that the new pair of pants she put on were ever so slightly too long and her plans to play with her doll house were interrupted by the fact that she needed to get ready for preschool.  The two things combined caused a meltdown of astronomical proportions.  It is possible that I possess some of the same qualities I described Audrey to have, causing me to be mentally challenged in the area of handling meltdowns.  In fact, I may have had my own mini meltdown.  Needless to say, our morning did not get off to a great start.

While she was at school, I thought about how I could have handled the situation differently and felt bad for how the morning transpired.  In that moment I decided that the rest of our day did not have to be determined by our bad morning.  So, I came up with the idea to pack a picnic lunch for the two of us that I would surprise her with when I picked her up from school.  We ate at a park that I just recently discovered and we had the whole place to ourselves.  After eating lunch we played together for what turned out to be one of the best hours of my life.  As it turns out, going up and down slides and frolicking is a great cardio workout.  I am glad that I had my camera with me because I was able capture a beautiful memory through photography.  Her smiles were priceless.  See . . .

Audrey may have learned some of her quirky behaviors by observing me, but I am learning how to live a more fulfilling life by observing her.  She is free like a summer wind, lives without fear, and loves without condition.  I want to live like that.