All By Myself

The most common phrase heard around our house these days is "I do it all by myself."  It is fun to see Breanna asserting her independence, and I'm proud she wants to try new things.  But... oh my goodness this is a whole new test of my patience.  Of course Breanna wants to buckle her own car seat when we're already running late.  Why wouldn't she want to get completely dressed with no help when she picks the outfit with 52 snaps, 75 buttons, and 49 zippers?  It only makes sense that she wants to take the marker lids on and off a million times in a row, ensuring that she ends up with rainbow hands.  It has been a good lesson for both of us though.  I have a hard time stepping back and letting her try new things when I'm pretty sure she won't be able to do it or she'll have a really hard time.  Breanna has a hard time not getting frustrated or having a tantrum when things are not done perfectly or she can't do them at all.  Those frustrations and feelings are good for her though!  I know that in my head, but when I see her struggling I just want to fix it.  She needs to learn to try again and not quit if it's hard.  She needs to learn that some things take practice.  She needs to learn that she can ask for help if she truly needs it, but only after a few good tries.  She needs to learn how to calm herself down when she gets worked up.  But... I need to learn that she doesn't have to do things perfectly or exactly how I would.  I need to learn that I won't always be there for her when things are hard, so I need to teach her those skills for those times.  I need to learn to trust my daughter and her abilities.  I  need to learn life is not always on my schedule, and sometimes it's more important to give my daughter a sense of pride from accomplishing a hard task rather than getting to our play date on time.  (Or I need to learn to always build an extra 10 minutes into our schedule!)  We all seem to be learning a little something in the Zeigler household lately!