Turning 8

D still continues to amaze me. Well, most times, I just see her as stubborn, but I guess that stubbornness works for her sometimes, too. I have been wanting for her to learn how to swim, however, our schedules since 3 years ago, especially in the summers, has been really hectic we still haven't found the time for her to. The few times we found ourselves in a pool, we tried teaching D how to float, hoping at least, she'd find confidence in the water. All our attempts were in vain. She was just too cautious to just trust us that we wouldn't let her be harmed. But she surprised me a year ago when I saw her trying to do it by herself. She was in the shallow end of the pool, just going back and forth, trying to float. Today, we were in the pool at a friend's place, and she surprised me again with her attempts at swimming. It was quite funny to look at, honestly, and the swimming she was doing was ineffective in that she really wasn't moving much. But hey, we all have to start somewhere, and for something she learned to do on her own, it shouldn't be too bad.

It just makes me think of how much she has grown, how much she's learning on her own. I mean, sure, she's almost 8, but who says milestones end when babies walk, run and talk or learn their A-B-Cs? I consider it a big milestone when we removed her bike's training wheels and she learned to ride it by herself. For the longest time, we left the training wheels on because every time we took it off and tried teaching her, she just got more frustrated (by us talking all the time, I don't know). The last time we took it off, she was determined. She went out in the yard every afternoon, learning to ride her bike without the trainers. And then there was the roller skates. She wanted one, I didn't. I was afraid that she'd just hurt herself. She was determined she could do it. And she did. By herself. She was so happy, she was all red in the face -- although looking back, she could've just been hot from all the running around. School is a breeze for her. I probably cannot name anyone who loves school more than she does. I have braced myself all these years, telling myself I have to be firm when I need to tell her, "No, you are not sick. You can go to school. Go get dressed now." On the contrary, I have had to force her through tears (hers) to stay home because she is too sick. I can still remember that day when I picked her up and she was so excited because she found the multiplication seatwork easier that the subtraction ones which had stumped her for so long. Last December, she said she was already behind because she had a hard time with her timed seatworks. A few weeks before school ended, she brought home a small medal for finishing all the timed seatworks. According to her, not everybody got one.

I could go on and on. Eight years of stories and memories. Eight years of funny quotes. But I am sure, there will be more. I am looking forward to it.