apples really do fall from trees

So everyone knows the saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". I've heard this saying my whole life, and to be honest it always kind of annoyed me for some reason but lately I have I whole new understanding of it. You see Little Sass, more and more, is reminding me of myself and likewise I, more and more, am reminding myself of my mother. I will say something and immediately gasp, wondering if my mother somehow invaded my brain to make me say it. It is rather scary. Even things she used to say that would completely drive me crazy, I find coming out of my mouth. This I have come to terms with. My mother and I are SUPER close so if starting to parent like her means that I'll eventually have that same relationship with Little Sass, I'm all for it.


What just amazes me though is just how much Little Sass is acting like ME (an age 3 me that is). I remember my mothers contentment to finding out I was having a little girl, it was genuine excitement over a new granddaughter and the sly gratification that karma would soon be hard at work in my household. It's not that I was a bad kid, in fact I was pretty adorable from what I'm told, but I was the kinda kid that learned manipulation early on and was not afraid to use it on my family or unsuspecting babysitters. I knew if I played my cards right I could get what I wanted and so I did, and when I didn't, well I made sure everyone around was just as miserable as myself. To my mothers delight, Little Sass is the exact same way.


Physically as well, she is beginning to look like the spitting image of me at her age. The little girl has my giant blue eyes that go from charming to daggers in .5 seconds, complete with trademark roll. She has the blond ringlet curls my mom eventually cut off after I refused to let her brush and de-tangle. I catch her admiring herself in the mirror and practicing her fancy ballerina twirls for hours on end. She loves singing songs as did I and is even recently adopting her mothers love of words and rhyme. She is a complete girly girl, changing outfits at least twice a day, even waking up in a different nightgown then I put her to bed in. The first thing she does when she wakes is put on her princess "high heels" and crown. She throws a fit when the weather forces me to make her wear pants, and will only settle for a dress with leggings at best. Sometimes I wonder where this girlyness comes from but then I remind myself that while I toughened with age, I was a far cry from the little girl that liked bugs and ate dirt. 


The girl does NOT take "no" for an answer and time out is a joke in our house. I refuse to resort to spankings so discipline consists of taking away dessert, barbie movies, and princess accessories. When she is unhappy she assures I am as well, kicking, screaming, or doing whatever it takes to assure no one is having a better time than she. She has recently discovered the art of talking back.


As trying as it can be at times to be raising such a strong minded and painfully adorable 3year old girl, I wouldn't have it any other way. I know this is just a preview of the amazing woman she will one day become, refusing to accept what someone says just because they are an elder or authority. The kind of woman who refuses to conform to things just because masses tell her to and isn't afraid to fight for what she believes in. The kind of woman who is intelligent and strong and confident can do whatever her heart desires. 


She is MY apple, and I couldn't be more proud.

Sass