So Proud!

I am so behind on blogging that it is ridiculous! I keep thinking that I shouldn't blog anything until I catch up, so that it is all in order, but clearly that is not going to happen anytime in the near future, so I decided I had to record about a conversation I had with Katie the other day that reminded me how lucky I am to have this amazing little girl as my daughter!

I absolutely love that Katie still enjoying talking to me about what is happening at school, with friends, etc. She will tell me the good and bad, and is very willing to listen to any advice I might have for her. The other day while we were cuddling before bed, she was telling me about an experience that had happened that day that had really upset her. As I am sure is very common at this age, Katie and her friends like to form little "groups". So far there have been boy chasing groups, dance groups, jump rope groups, and I could go on and on. Often, their groups are even named. Apparently there has been a new group formed with her group of friends this past week. Early in the week she told me about the group and was excited to share the name with me. By the end of the week, things had changed a bit, as they often do when you are talking about a bunch of school age girls. So this story is getting long, so I will get to the point. :) Apparently it was decided by the group members that another girl (one who is usually very good friends with the rest) should not be allowed to join the group. Apparently the group finally decided they didn't have a choice but to let her in, but then decided they would be mean in order to get her to leave. As she was telling me the story, Katie told me that this made her feel horrible for the girl in question. She said the girls were being really mean and she was telling them that this wasn't the right thing to do. Finally, the "outcast" girl decided to form her own group, and Katie decided that it was only right to quit the first group and join her group so that this little girl had someone to play with. As Katie was telling me the story, she was explaining how she thought this other little girl was probably feeling - sad, confused, left out and hurt. Katie hated seeing this little girl feel this way and knew it was wrong. Her way of showing her support for the girl and her dislike for the actions of the other group was to change groups. I know this sounds like a silly thing to be proud of, but I am! Let me tell you that this was not a popular move for Katie. Her good friends in the other group have been quite upset with her for the choice she made. Katie is learning early that the easy choice and the right choice are not always the same thing. She is also learning to follow her heart and not the popular choice. I am very proud of my very sensitive little (ok - big!) girl. :)

As a side note, of course we have talked about being part of "groups". We have talked about how groups are made to have members, which can make those not part of the group feel sad and left out. She has assured me that everyone is welcome to join her group - so I guess the lesson to be learned from this will only be seen with time. For now, I am proud of her wise choices!