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Amazed ...

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... by my daughter.
Yesterday we went to gymnastics, and as I was watching her, I noticed she did one of the moves a little bit sloppy (a keyword in gymnastics is "tight"!). Her intructor pointed it out in a humorous way (not making fun of her--just pointing it out). Ashley just smiled ('cause she knew it was a little sloppy) and agreed while listening to her instructor give her tips on how to do it next time.


All of a sudden it dawned on me the HUGE difference between us at that age. I had the self-confidence of an amoeba at that age, and if someone had told me that something needed a little correcting, I would have curled up in a mental fetal position for days (literally), beating myself up over something so insignificant.


I truly am amazed by so many things about her:


  • her strong sense of self at such a young age

  • her ability to know her strengths and weaknesses (a large part of them, anyway) as well as her likes and dislikes

  • her strong moral character

  • her extremely bubbly personality

  • her ability to light up a room

  • her ability to truly connect to and care deeply about people in her life (I sooo had no clue how to do that at her age)

  • that she can play like a six-year-old one minute and verbally spar with me like an adult the next minute

  • her ability to know when people are treating her appropriately and when they're not ... and the ability to decide if a relationship is worth pursuing based on how she's treated (i.e. she doesn't put up with--or hang out with--people who don't treat her well)

  • her ability to not let the "bad" parts of life quench her spirit.

  • her mind-boggling intelligence

  • her strong affinity for the stage (I am soooo the opposite, lol! I worked very hard at being "invisible," which was very hard to do with my "coke bottle" glasses!)

It truly moves me to tears that she's so "together" at such a young age. I deeply appreciate her in ways I can't express.

Comments

DonnaG said…
I love Ashley! She is what I want Sarah to be like as she grows. Carmela, your daughter is a gem!
October 12, 2007 at 1:43 PM
Anonymous said…
I love my niece too and notice many of the things you pointed out so well! She is awesome. It's funny because in that particular picture she looks SO much like you.
Same here, I would like Isabella to have many of the same traits as Ashley. If only I could "will" them all to her :)
October 12, 2007 at 2:32 PM
tjep said…
I agree with Donna, Ashley is just lovely! I love her outgoing-ness!
Enjoy these moments!
October 15, 2007 at 9:00 AM
Anonymous said…
ok now i feel really touched. thnk you all for your lovely coments on me! donna and teena thanks
! i would love to bee sarah's role model! and uncle chris... i would love love love for isabella to be like me. not to be conceited or anything! but anyways thank you all so much! i love you all family or not!
*ashley*
October 19, 2007 at 11:13 AM
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