Those "aha!" moments

When I was a senior in high school, I helped a friend do her AP English essay—I didn’t write it, but I helped her develop her theme and I proofed it for her. When we got our grades back, she had an A; I had a B. I confessed to my teacher that I had helped her write hers, and he smiled and said that they say that a teacher has done his job when his student surpasses him. That made me feel really good about that B.

I see my daughter doing this—not every day, but at least once a week—and I cannot help but swell with pride. It’s her who should be proud of herself, of course; I’m not the one approaching each day with a huge store of confidence, or developing complex roads or robots, or doing any of the other amazing things she does.

Today I noticed that she speaks better than I do. I have always had the issue of talking too fast, which works well when you speak Spanish—not English! Sometimes my words run together and I don’t even know it, and it’s very embarrassing. My mom used to call me “the micromachine girl” because I sounded just like that fast-talking guy on the commercial.

Wood Sprite stopped me and repeated what I said, grinning up at me, earlier today when I blended two words together unknowingly.  “Are you mocking me?” I asked playfully, and she said, still smiling, “No, I just wanted to let you know what you said.” She’s seven going on 30, I swear.

When do you notice your child surpassing or catching up to you in certain areas? How does it make you feel? It is a bit bittersweet to us moms, I think—and maybe dads, too—because it reminds us how our kids are growing so quickly before our eyes, but it also means that they are flourishing.

Photo courtesy of Wood Sprite, who is already taking photos better than I am!