My neighbor, Katie, asked if she could come over to bake cookies with the girls and I. Sounded like fun, and it’s never bad to have an extra set of hands when a mess is about to be made. Finley was so excited and kept asking to start. Katie got a little hung up with something she had to do for her job, and was going to be late getting to our house. I decided to start the process to keep Finley happy! I thought she would really enjoy making the peanut butter cookies with the kiss in the middle. This would involve rolling the dough balls in sugar, counting out kisses to match the number of cookies, and putting a kiss in the center of a circle. All things that Finley know and understand how to do. This was the first year that I’ve been able to experience something like this with my child. The year that I was pregnant with Finley, Jake, Liv and I made sugar cookies. Livia was never really interested and didn’t help out long. We always try to engage Livia in all the activities we do, but she usually has her own agenda. I couldn’t help but get a little sad that Livia wasn’t in the kitchen with Finley and I counting out kisses, laughing, and talking about Christmas “stuff.” Liv would run in the kitchen and take me by the hand and show me what Wiggles video was playing on You Tube. You see, this is what makes Liv happy. She LOVES LOVES LOVES music, The Wiggles, and Elmo’s world on You Tube. She laughs, dances, and sometimes sings a few words. Finley was having such a good time in the kitchen with me. We were enjoying what we were doing. As much as I wanted Liv to be in there with us, I stepped back and realized that I was bummed because of what I wanted. Livia was perfectly content and happy. There is a book that I have called “A different dream for my child.” It’s a great book, but just the title came to my mind. I can’t bring myself down with MY wants with Livia. She is probably the happiest kid I know, and that should be enough! There are going to be moments like baking Christmas cookies with Finley, that make me wish Liv was typical. However, knowing that she is just as content watching the Wiggles and wanting to share that excitement with me makes me happy. I’m counting my blessings today for being able to experience two different worlds with my children. Livia; pure happiness, innocence, and love. Finley; normalcy, words, independence, and a vision for what’s most important.
