What Parents Will Do...

I'm feeling reminiscent, tonight, of my life with a precocious and curious toddler.


When Maddie was old enough to bathe in a regular bathtub - not one of those plastic baby tubs - I would wash her body and say the name of every major bone as I passed by. "This is your cranium," I'd say as I washed her hair, and I'd move down to the mandible, clavicles, scapulae, etc... all the way down to her tarsals, metatarsals and phalanges.


I bought Madeleine several books regarding human physiology that explained the nervous system, endocrine system, digestive system, cardiovascular system, reproductive system... and the skeletal system, of course.


My secret plan was to give Maddie a strong foundation as to how the human body worked so she would excel in biology/anatomy classes, setting the stage for a life in the medical field. She now remembers only a handful of the bones and probably couldn't divulge the purpose of the heart's atria and ventricles... but she's got a foundation.


I'd be lying if I said that I'd be happy for Maddie no matter where she ends up in life - I have great expectations of her. More accurately, I hope she is able to follow her dreams and choose to do something she loves. To carve a niche for herself in her chosen field and excel. To be confident.


Confidence is something I lacked while scheduling my future. I was good at a lot of things, and even very good at a few. However, I would not allow myself to face failure where I'd invested my heart and talents... so I abandoned those skills and dreams in favor of the things that would merely get me by. It's ironic that I broke my own heart in trying to protect it. I'll do whatever I can to be sure Maddie allows herself to take risks and dream big... to never give up or take the easy way out (even if she opts out of the medical field).