gungho girl

She cried and didn't want to do it. But strong-armed (yes we were rather heartless parents) into it, she just dived right in (literally) and did what she had to do.

I'm referring to Caitlin, my Ningster Mu-Mu. As KH observed this morning, the girl looks and can sound very fierce and aggressive and confident. But inside, she's still a marshmallow, still has her fears. But there is also a lot of strength and courage in her. She rises to the occasion so magnificently.

On Sat, she didn't want to go for her swimming lesson. We thought it was time she learnt how to swim. She didn't want to. We strong-armed her into this. So red-eyed, sniffly, she agreed. Later, I heard from KH and her sibs just how brave she was. She jumped in, didn't show any sign of fear, didn't cry, was never the least hesitant and encouraged an older boy who was also having his first lesson that day. She was the one who cheered him on and bolstered his confidence during the lesson. She did everything the instructor told her to without a murmur of protest, no baulking, no crying.

We celebrated by letting her choose her meal for the family treat. She chose Queensway McDonalds. Trans fat be dammed!

It was as if the swimming lesson broke through an invisible confidence barrier. The next day, she came up to us and said it was time she learnt to ride on two wheels. So KH removed the training wheels and off they went.

KH later told me that she picked up instructions very quickly and learned fast. Quite unlike her older sibs who took longer. She has enough in her to overcome her fear and when she does, she does it well full speed ahead, no looking back. She would listen intently, and do it, getting the hang of things very quickly.

I'm proud of her. Now its time to look for a new helmet and elbow/knee pads for her so that she can really go round the estate.