"Junipers are very tolerant of drought and thrive in all areas"
I know it's too early to tell what she's really going to be like, but I can't help already feeling that she is someone exceptional. I'm afraid when I describe her as calm and peaceful that people might think she's one of those fat, placid babies who stare at you vacantly while drooling, but she isn't like that at all. Ever since the moment she was born, she has locked onto the world with her bright, alert, interested eyes. She rarely gets alarmed, and like her namesake she seems to thrive in all conditions (even while being carted around precariously by brothers, or with her head falling off my lap because I'm leaning over to help Daisy with something, or while tucked under one arm while Sam roasts marshmallows with the other, for example). She takes everything in stride. I love her serene, clear-eyed gaze.
I know I'm a doting parent, but she is special, this girl. We love her so much!
My father found Ginna very exceptional when she was tiny - until he told his sister, in wonder, how amazing this baby was. His sister smiled at him knowingly. "The doting grandfather," she said, patronizingly. I mean, all grandparents find their grandchildren exceptional. He was embarrassed. But the fact is that he was right. She was an exceptional child then, and she is an exceptional woman now.
ReplyDeleteThere are people who say you should never praise your children - for fear of making them vain. But I say, if you don't find yourself in love, recognizing the gifts and divinity in your babies, then you are making a terrible mistake. We need to praise our children for their real virtues, allowing them to be aware of their gifts, their value - while making sure that they understand that things have value because of what good they can do. That every gift is given as a tool for service, to make the world a better place.
I can see in your photos exactly what you're talking about. She is a love. Intelligent and willing and interested. But then, knowing her parents, how could I expect anything less?