my little acorn.

strong-willed:  adj.

determined to do as one wants even if other people advise against it. 

synonyms: determined, resolute, stubborn, obstinate, willfull, headstrong, strong-minded, self-willed, unbending, unyielding, instransigent, intractable

 

 this is a word I am extremely familiar with. its the nice way of saying you have a child who just doesn't want to obey. to this day the word "why" creeps in my head at almost every command or request. my parents had their work cut out, and they stepped up to the challenge enough to keep me on the straight and narrow... my dad used to tease me, "You'll get it when you have your strong-willed child." I would roll my eyes.

 

now.

I get it.

 

My dear sweet Westley is far from perfect... but he is not strong-willed. So initially I thought I would just dodge the bullet and be given kids with their father's characteristic of being compliant with authority's wishes (in general.) 

nope.

My adorable Molly came and right away I knew I was looking at a mini-me. She runs at the world with a wild and free fervor. I adore her ability to light up a room with her sweet smile, but watch out for those thunder clouds when you cross her, or put a wrinkle in her plans. Needless to say, she is very good at being two years old. Strong-minded.

The past few days have been filled with potty training my little lady. In the past, she has had zero problem telling us she has to go, or has gone, but refused to try to go in the potty. She would tell us as she went in her diaper, she liked it just fine, and nothing was going to motivate her to change her mind. Stubborn.

In general, the term: strong-willed has negative connotations associated with it. And maybe it's because its the flag I have waved for so many years, but I like to look at it as a positive character trait. When I first spent some time with my Grandpa Chick, I was a toddler. Afterwards he pulled my dad aside and told him that I was a strong-willed child and that there are two kinds of people: willow trees and oak trees. Willows will blow and bend in the wind, but oaks grow straight and solid and never waver. He said I was an oak, and it was my dad's job to make sure I was planted where I could grow strong and healthy, because if he did, I would never be shaken. 

My dad later passed this story on to me, and it completely changed my branding of strong-willed. Now when I hear that word I think of a powerful challenge the parents of strong-willed children have. And when I look at my little sparkle of a daughter, fearless of water, or to dance, ready to try and fail and get back up and try again...I'm excited to channel that effervesces. I have a feeling my dad was so good at parenting me because he too is an oak...

I am happy to say my little acorn is on day three of potty training and rocking it. She is a sticker queen and is cashing in her rewards daily. The struggle of parenting is real, but seeing her beam as she succeeds is priceless.