Tuesday, December 1, 2009

For Tonight She is My Baby

Today I had a 5 minute meeting with my daughter's teacher. I left that meeting so angry with my daughter. I was upset that she was labeled disruptive, disorganized, and irresponsible. A 5 minute conversation plagued me for the rest of the day.

I spent a wonderful evening tonight with the Young Women of my ward. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, tasty desserts, a hilarious game of white elephant exchange, a celebration of the Christmas season.

Then I returned home to face the problem with my daughter again. I sat down with her and discussed the importance of responsibility, organization, and not disrupting the entire class. This conversation was much, much longer than 5 minutes. It was a very emotional conversation.

To calm down, I flipped on the computer and began browsing facebook. How quickly my frustration and anger toward my daughter was softened. Too soon can life change. So swiftly did my heart swell and ache. My mind has reflected on days of past when I held my daughters a little longer than was needed, held them a little tighter than was necessary, held them just in case tomorrow never came.

I crept into her room after she was sleeping, I climbed into her bed, and held her. Tomorrow we'll tackle school, but for tonight, she is my baby.