Like mother, like daughter....

The title says it all-- and it terrifies me... now that Alexa is older and learning more everyday, I realize how much of myself I see in her. She is a perfectionist... well, as much as you can be a perfectionist at this age, but she is... just like her mama.

Yesterday, I bought Alexa a shape sorter from the store. I had wanted to get her one for awhile, but hadn't ever gotten around to it. I know they are good for fine motor skills, and she has gotten so much better the past few weeks, I thought it would be a good time. We sat down on the floor and I showed her how the shapes would fall through if you put it in the right spot. Now, she is only 16 months old, so obviously she doesn't know her shapes yet, nor does she know how to match things up perfectly, but she got the basic idea about what she was supposed to do. I helped her put the first few through, and she wanted to take over. Of course, she didn't get the star shape through the right spot, but she sure tried- over and over and over... And when she couldn't get it through, she threw it on the ground and screamed out of frustration. So she picked up a new piece and did the same thing. Even after I showed her where to put it, she still was determined to do it her own way. She had the most precious face in the world, sticking out her tongue, determined to get it in. I could tell that she was getting frustrated when she couldn't do it by herself- which is totally me.

I have always been a perfectionist- straight A's, officer in any activity I was in during school, etc. My parents encouraged me to try different activities, but when I wasn't good immediately, I would quit. I didn't like being mediocre at something- I wanted to be the best. I still tend to feel that if I can't be great at something at the beginning, I don't want to participate. I know that I miss out on fun times because I am scared of failing... and I do not want that for my daughter. I want her to know that it is ok to not be perfect at something the first time, and that working to improve at something is sometimes better than just being good to start with. With God's help, I'll be able to show her that it is ok to fail- the most important thing is picking yourself back up and trying again.