Okay...so Facebook and Twitter have monopolized my time over the past months. Oh yeah-my kids, too ;)
This has been such an amazing year for Sophia. She never ceases to surprise me. A few weeks ago, she was watching t.v. and one of her "favorite guys" came on. I heard her say, "He is so hot!" After I picked myself up off the ground, I said, "Sophia!". She said, "Whaaat?" with a coy little smile. I asked her where she learned that and she said, "Well he is." I told her not to say that word but maybe use "cute" instead. She said, "Okay, he's cute". A few days later we were driving in the car. Sophia was in the back with Mira and 2 of Mira's friends. Mira and her friends were talking about boys and when they mentioned one, Sophia joined the conversation by saying "He is so hot". Mira was absolutely mortified and I think her friends were stunned silent. Mira sounded like me with "Sophia! That's a bad word! Did you learn that at school?". Mira and her friends go to a Catholic school and Sophia goes to a public school. Mira is convinced that anything Sophia learns comes from her public school peers. I disagree so I said,"Sorry guys, I think she has been watching too much t.v.". Mira and her friends have come understand Sophia's little outbursts. The problem here is that she is using it in the right context so it is hard to scold her (or prevent myself from laughing) but obviously not appropriate for an 8 year-old to go around saying.
She really is growing up though. We watched the end of Marley and Me yesterday together (I watched the whole movie that morning and when the girls woke up the end was on otherwise parts of the movie are NOT appropriate) and she knew that Marley was sick and died. Our good friends just lost their yellow lab, also named Marley, a few weeks ago. So, the girls are very emotional about sick dogs lately. Sophia cried when the movie ended and said she was sad because "they both died". When I asked her who, she said "that one, both of them"pointing to the t.v. and meaning Marley...our friends' Marley. She said, "I miss them both". Again, the use of the word "both"...to me just amazing when I have teacher's telling me she doesn't understand pronouns, gender,etc.
Later in the day we were driving home from dress shopping for my cousin's wedding. Sophia said she wanted to see Beethoven 1, 2,3, and 4. "It's not a sad story, Marley and Me is a sad story". This may not seem Earth shattering to you, but the fact that Sophia could categorize a story and know she wasn't in the mood for it is remarkable to me. Then, we talked about Jenny and Stu getting married. Sophia said, "They love each other. When they get married they are going to kiss". I said, "yes". I think the idea of weddings is fresh in her mind because we just watched our wedding video and Sophia likes to tell us all the time that we're married and we love each other. Then she said, "Not me...I'm not 16 yet. When I am 16 I can have a boyfriend and we can kiss." I am not sure why I picked 16 out of the air when I had the conversation with Mira about dating. Sophia naturally overheard the conversation and applied it to herself. I could kick myself for not saying 21. Once Sophia sets her sights on something, watch out. We have been counting down her 9th birthday since the day after she turned 8. She'll probably have me make a calendar to count down the number of days until she can have a boyfriend. Until then, I continue to hear on a daily basis, "I wish I had a boyfriend".
A few days ago we were eating in the Target Food Court (don't tell me you've never done it!). We sat down with our Icees and pizza. There was a vendor sitting next to us crunching numbers on a little machine. Sophia announced,"Today is a great day!". We are used to this announcements because Sophia truly loves every day. The vendor looked up and laughed...and then smiled. I think we may have made he day a little brighter.
And one more little story. A few months back, Sophia had a Friday off but Mira didn't. So, we invited a few friends from Sophia's class to go bowling. She doesn't have a ton of playdates so we thought this would be fun for her and the other girls. And it was! Until it was time to leave. The 3 friends got in the back seat and then we have a 3rd row. Sophia was going to have to go back there by herself. She was already upset about leaving and now this! She would not get in the car and walked away. I went over to her and she burst into tears. She wanted to sit by a friend. I told her I wasn't going to make her friends move. She refused to go back to the car but finally gave in. I took her hand and she said, "Wait, hold on, I don;t want them to see me with tears." and proceeded to wipe her eyes. This is the first time to my recollection Sophia was "embarrassed", if you can call it that.
Tomorrow is Sophia's first Special Olympics competition. We are all very excited. I watched the full practice today and was amazed by the talent of all the athletes. It always feels good to be in a room filled with parents of special needs kids. I always watch them in amazement and wonder how they cope. Then I wonder if people look at me like that and remember that I'm the lucky one. I am sure they feel the same way too.
