Today we started off the season with a visit to our cousin's place for a Holiday Open House. Their home is perfect for the occasion, beautiful, warm and FILLED with holiday knick knacks, pictures, treats and good cheer. We missed last year's open house and I do believe it has been two years since we saw them, but they are the sort of family that you see and are instantly at home with. Anyway, we walked in and initially didn't see anyone we recognized despite the house being filled with guests. We wandered around a bit looking for our hosts and finally tracked them down. Beans wanted to see their daughter and was told she was down in the basement with all the other kids... did she want to go down and look for her?!? Well.... I wondered what would happen. She barely knows their daughter and hasn't a clue about the other kids ... I expected that she would want me to go down with her, to hold her hand or take care of her..... HAH!!! I should have known better!!! She said "OK"!! And with nary a backward glance she went down to the basement and visited with all the kids!! Next thing I knew I saw her and a line of girls parading out into the snow to play snowballs together!! I hardly set eyes on her the entire time we were visiting!!! She had a marvellous time, and so did I !!!
I remembered as I was writing this that this past May she surprised the heck out of me too... We met some new friends locally and their daughter was having a camp out for her birthday party. A bunch of her friends had a tent pitched in the yard and the girls were going to have a slumber party out there. They had a small camp fire ( and a Dad who was supervising the marshmallow melt !) and were telling ghost stories!!! I dropped Beans off at about 6:30 and said I'd swing back about 10pm pretty darn sure I'd need to take her home as she wouldn't know anyone and would be scared to sleep out in the dark with strangers....! At 10 pm I went "to fetch her" !!! She was sitting around the fireside swapping ghost stories !! ( MY KID!!! GHOST STORIES!!!) and having a blast! I asked her if she was alright and would she like to come home and I was met with an indignant "MOM!!!" ....o.....k.......!!! I went back home with my tail between my legs!! I couldn't decide if I was delighted or terrified!!! I settled for delighted! :D I'd left my phone with her and anticipated the phone ringing any moment all night long.. but ..nooooo!! When I was finally allowed to collect her at NOON the next day I might add, she'd had a WONDERFUL time and made a bunch of new friends!!
I know that people who don't really understand Attachment Parenting can think that it creates children who cling to their parents and who are afraid to leave their sides... in fact quite the opposite actually. It turns out that if you give your child confidence in your love and affection, you make your child certain that you are there for him or her whenever they need you, then they feel much safer pulling away as they are programmed to do, knowing that when they look back, you are right there every time.
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