She's learned early...It'll pay off later.

My daughter constantly amazes me. Here's how:

* her brother wants to do a Science Fair project even though he's not required. So while we're looking through ideas, Caroline hears one that she thinks sounds interesting. So she decides she wants to do a Science fair project - How do you make yogurt? Which milk makes the best yogurt?

* Last year, she showed me something that I found to be amazing. There was a little girl in her class that was considered the Alpha Dog of the girls. Whatever the girl wanted to do, all the other girls wanted to do too--except Caroline. Caroline didn't take ANYTHING off of this little girl. It got to the point that the other girls began telling the Popular Girl no if they didn't want to do something, why? Because Caroline had said no to her and nothing bad happened. Anyway, Caroline and this other girl were friends until one day Popular Girl was mean to some of the other girls and made fun of them. Caroline dropped her like a hot potato, and began playing with the other girls. As soon as the other girls saw that Caroline's world did not end when she wasn't friends with the Popular Girl they started to play without the Popular Girl. After a while, the Popular girl asked Caroline if she'd be her friend again and Caroline said yes. This went on for a few months until the Popular Girl became mean to the other girls and Caroline didn't like that. This happened around Christmastime and Caroline was not friends with her the rest of the year (her teacher was amazed).

* Yesterday when I went to pick up the kids from PACE (the after school program at their Elementary) I was told that Caroline had something to tell me and she had been quite upset. Upon finding out that she had gotten in trouble I braced for the worst. Here is what she told me when I she came out to meet me:

"A (the boy's initials) was trying to tell me something and I didn't want to hear him. I told him to leave me alone but he got in my face. I told him to get out of my face, but he didn't (she's fighting back tears at this point). So I spit in his eye."

Guess what? The idiot got out of her face. It was hard not to smile when she told me this. Kuddos to you, was what I thought. Of course we talked about what to do the next time. I suggested going and talking to a teacher and telling them, or sticking your fingers in your ears and going, "LALALALALALALA". I told her the boy wouldn't know what to do if she did that because he wouldn't expect it.

When I told Jason what had happened he giggled and said, "Well, he got off easy. If it'd been Jack she'd have kneed him in the you know where." Point taken. "And, at least he's learning early that when a girl says no, she means no."

So, it's become clear to me that my daughter is quickly understanding how to stand up for herself (although it might not be the best way), she knows what she stands for, and she won't let anybody tell her she can't do anything. That's my girl.