“Though she be but little…

…she is fierce.”

That William Shakespeare quote has always reminded me of my oldest daughter.  She’s small in stature but strong in will and spirit.

She turned 8 this week. 

I am proud of the girl she’s growing up to be.  She’s not much like me.  So many of her strengths are my weaknesses.

She’s logical and practical.  She tells things like it is and is a no nonsense kind of gal.   She is self confident.  She’s not a people pleaser.  

She loves, LOVES numbers.  She loves checking the temperature and calculating the time and I am amazed at her brain.  She just gets math in a way that I NEVER have.  It’s her favorite subject.  Doing math can take her out of a bad mood.  It’s her favorite subject and always the one she does first on school at home days.  If I let her she’d happily do page after page of math ALL DAY long… and willingly skip history and writing.   She likes figuring out how and why things work.

She sees the world as black and white.  There is no grey, just right and wrong.   She appreciates order and categories.  She’s my left brain, type A child.

She also has a nurturing side to her.  She still likes to play with dolls.  Not Barbies or princesses, but baby dolls.  She loves babies and toddlers and will take them under her wing and cuddle them.  I’ve seen her do it with her cousin and with some toddler friends at church.  It’s sweet to watch.

She’s a hard worker.  She loves to exercise.  She loves gymnastics.  She loves working new skills and learning new techniques.    I love the spark in her eye when she comes home and tells me she learned a new skill or got to work on a harder skill, like giants or back handsprings on beam.

I love watching her grow and wonder what sort of woman she will grow up to be.  What will God use her for?  I could totally see her as an engineer, a coach, a surgeon, or a cop.   For now she’s a second grader who loves building with Legos, crunching numbers, super heroes, and playing in the dirt.