Independence
Everyone talks about the “terrible twos” and I do understand why this developmental period is hard for many parents. I remember when my friend Leah’s daughter Sophie was upset about something, I said, “It is hard to be 2” and her mom replied “It is hard to be the mom of a 2 year old.” This is true, they are constantly pushing limits, trying to figure out where they start and you stop. And it is hard to keep your cool when a child is shrieking, as if she has just broken a major limb, because she wanted to find the baby doll and you picked it up for her.
But on good days, I’m finding this push for independence quite nice in other ways. She will actually play by herself for an hour in the mornings, not requiring or even requesting my presence, so that I have time to clean up the kitchen and even check my email. She really wants to do things on her own, and this requires me to sit on my hands while she tries to zip her sweater for the 100th time, even though she can’t get the zipper threaded. It is so fun to see her learning everything…one day she can’t even imagine how to put together a puzzle, the next day it just falls into place.