conuly

So, anyway, Ana really is growing up very fast. Today, she was late for her nap. This was entirely my fault. But you know, kids who are late for their naps are cranky and snappish. So as we got off the boat, she's flipping out, she doesn't want to walk and she doesn't want to be carried. Eventually, as I'm carrying her, she raises her hand and says "I HIT YOU!". She doesn't, at this point, hit me. So I start in asking if she wants me to hit her, if she likes it when people hit her, if it's all right for people to hit her. She musters out a tiny "no" at the end of this, and I tell her that if that's true, she can't hit me, because that's not nice, and doesn't she want to be nice? Of course she does (I'm not giving her a chance to say no. I recognize that this is unfair, but my goal was for distraction, not in-depth discussions of her self-perception). And then she put her hand down.

This doesn't sound like that much, but given her mental state at the time, it's a major accomplishment. She was beyond tired, she was frustrated, she wasn't that happy - but she managed enough self-control *not* to hit me after she'd had the impulse to do so. I was really happy (not least because she hadn't hit me), and I told her so. That's really a big step, nice and mature.