Nice opportunity

I distinctly remember the last night that I was pregnant with Annie.  I was scheduled for an induction the next day, and I soaked in the time she spent kicking me.  I knew that I would never feel that again.  The next day everything would change.  It was scary, but so exciting.  I knew she was ready to make her big arrival, and I was ready too.

I feel oddly the same as I think about taking her for high school orientation tomorrow.  The only difference is that I'm not sure I'm ready, but, just like every other stage of her life, I am confident that she is.

Last night Emma was in the fifth grade junior miss.  She danced, she did push-ups, she spoke to the audience twice.  Watching her do these things with confidence and little, if any, nervousness, is still amazing to me.  That this little girl who went years without speaking to anyone will now talk and sing in front of a crowd, truly is a miracle.

She looked beautiful.  After working so hard for five weeks, I was very proud of her.  She didn't win, but she smiled and had fun the whole time.

When we got in the car, Sarah Beth began to cry.  She said, "I wanted Emma to win!"  I didn't even realize that she fully understood what was happening, and she had never spoken of her disappointment for Emma while we remained in the gym.

I explained to Sarah Beth that Emma did win because she did such a good job and had so much fun.  Sarah Beth replied, "But she didn't get a lot of medals.  I wanted her to get a lot of medals."

Winning was never discussed throughout this process, but Sarah Beth figured out that was the goal, and she thought that her big sister should have been the one to win.

Honestly, I'll take Sarah Beth's love for her big sister over those medals any day.