She

She was born in the fall.

It was evident from the first that this little girl would have an exaggerated sense of headstrong.  She showed it in the way she cried for hours, her refusal to nurse past three months of age, and her way of fighting off what she did not want to do.

She bloomed into a beautiful toddler, who threatened to "wun away" because Mommy had "'panked her butt" on more than one occasion.  She was not allowed out of the yard, however, so she packed her bag with her doll and a snack and walked around the edges of the yard, grumbling all the while, until Mommy had learned her lesson.

At eleven she stopped telling her mother "I love you" because she thought it made her sound weak.  She started to have crushes on television stars and boy bands, and put their posters in a place of prominence in her room.  She learned to do the latest dance moves and went roller skating to the beat of her favorite singers.

At thirteen she became boy crazy, and suffered more than one broken heart over a young, pimply-faced boy.  This would continue throughout her teenage years, but with boys who seemed to get control of the acne to some extent.

She made the volleyball team in high school her freshman year, but was devastated when she was cut the next year.  Knowing she wanted to play a sport, she began to play tennis, and was accepted on the Varsity team.  She played Varsity for the remainder of the time she was in high school.

It was also during that time she decided nursing was the career for her.  She interned at a pediatric office and volunteered at a nursing home.  She grew into a young woman who could do anything she wanted to do, all thanks to that stubborn streak...she would just never give up.

She is now in her Senior year of college, and she's realizing the dream of becoming a nurse.  She has learned that saying "I love you" does not mean you are weak, but rather that you have the power to love others.  She is caring, competent, and still as headstrong as she's ever been.

She gets that from me...her mother.

This post is part of Five Minute Fridays, an event sponsored by Lisa-Jo Baker at http://lisajobaker.com.