"Yeah, well..."
We hear this phrase a lot in our home. I didn't notice it until the other night when Geoff pointed it out to Annalise at the dinner table. When he did it was a revelation; I knew instantly what he was talking about. Annalise frequently begins her sentences with those two words. "Yeah, well..."
We've been talking to her about her arguing for a while now. We've been trying to get her to the point of recognizing what an argument is. We are trying to teach her not to argue with us.
But it is in her so deeply. She was born this way. When she was just a few days old we travelled from Idaho (where we were both going to school) to home in Seattle. We stayed with my parents. When my mom heard Anna's cry from downstairs and from the other end of the house, she began lovingly calling Annalise, "the pistol". Annalise will be heard.
So before Geoff pointed out the "yeah, well" phrase I was thinking (in the car by myself, where, aside from the shower, I do my best thinking) how difficult it is to raise a lawyer.
Now I don't want to pigeon-hole Annalise into a career, making her feel like I expect her to become a lawyer. It's just that I believe she would make an excellent one. She is bright, has an incredible memory (major grudge-holder, this girl!), is a natural arguer, and cares fiercely for the underdog. She cares about "fair"...whatever that is.
Raising a lawyer is no easy task. Everything can turn into a battle. Slowly we learn how to raise this little girl, teaching her to respect her parents, without crushing this strong will of hers. After all, I don't want that fire-cracker personality in her soul to die. In fact, I don't think it can and it would be a tragedy if it ever does. She needs this will, this drive, this "yeah, well..." mentality. It's a tough world and even though I often say, "you need to learn to take 'no' for an answer"; in my head I'm thinking, "you need to learn to take 'no' for an answer from Dad and me; but as far as the world is concerned: fight!"
I love this little girl of mine, so strong and smart, and so kind and sensitive to what is right and fair. Whatever she chooses to do in her life, I know she will be great.
2 comments:
Hmmmm ... I think my mom wrote this post about me a couple decades ago :) !! She used to say the exact same things about me. So how do I be a successful "lawyer" adult (aka strong willed and wild as a fire cracker) and how do I now raise my "lawyer" kids :) ?!?
Good luck! (By the way, have you ever looking into the book called "Raising Your Spirited Child?")
I can't believe I was so mean to call our newborn baby girl 'the pistol'!! She was probably a little nervous after that long car ride! j/k! Seriously, Anna is quite sensitive to her surroundings and also a complex thinker--these qualities can be challenging in and out of a courtroom!! I love you all, especially my little "silver tea party" guest (I loved her dainty pinky fingers raised while holding the tea cup)!
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