Stairclimbing

Christmas Day was a small but significant landmark day for Sara Sue. It was the first day she climbed stairs on her own. Being as tiny as she is, just advancing one step is a substantial achievement and takes all of her energy and concentration. But there she was, ascending like Sir Edmund Hillary, and it quickly became her favorite thing to do. The cutest part of it is that after summiting every step or two, she looks behind her (she always has a spotter, of course). I haven’t quite figured out why she does this:
1. She wants to make sure that someone is behind her to catch her if she slips
2. She wants to see if she’s really doing this all by herself
3. It’s her form of braggadocio – “Look at me everybody!”
It finally occurred to me that any of those three possibilities are just fine with me:
1. I hope I can always be there to support her when she slips
2. I want to encourage her independence
3. I want her to have a healthy self-esteem and not be timid in her ambitions
Yep, this whole parenting thing is pretty fun.