Thursday, March 3, 2011

Walk the Line


Sophie is determined to do it. Walk the line, that is. 
We went to pick up big sister from an after school activity the other day. I had a hard time containing Sophie for ten short minutes while we waited for Lil to be finished. It was finally time to go, and Sophie actually held my hand through the school (for a change!). But once we got outside, it was a different story. As soon as we went through the front doors, she took off like a shot, as fast as her little legs would carry her, straight for the parking lot. My heart jumped into my throat as she headed for the asphalt. I knew I'd never catch up with her before she got to the curb, and I've told her a MILLION times not to go out into the street alone. She has a mind of her own, that one! So I watched helplessly as she got closer to the end of the sidewalk and then all of a sudden....she came to a screeching halt, toes literally hanging off the red curb. She knew where the boundary was, and she ran straight for it and didn't even slow down until she got there. And even then she barely stopped in time!

I couldn't help but think this had to be a metaphor for her life. Sophie is my child who likes to push the envelope, all day every day. She generally knows where the boundary lines are, but she likes to walk right up to them, tiptoe along the line, jump back and forth and back and forth, and occasionally take a GIANT leap across. It definitely makes life interesting and sometimes entertaining, but man, she is something else. I don't know what I'm going to do with her sometimes! I just hope we can help her learn to stay on the right side of the line. I have a feeling she is going to spend her life running full speed for the red curbs, landing with toes hanging off, and she's going to take us along for quite a ride as she does it!