Girls

Hubby and I were talking awhile back about the varied temperments of our three daughters. The discussion began with the realization that girls these day aren't necessarily told what they can be when they grow up, as they had been in past generations. But we wondered how our girls would have reacted to a discouraging comment, or an outright prohibition. If they were told that they would not be permitted to follow their life's dream, what would their responses look like?

We agreed that our oldest daughter Samantha, would adapt and set out to discover a new life's dream. She would probably have already put together a back-up plan. She is the one who is never daunted by a new set of circumstances. It has always been a waste of time to ground this girl. She would simply decide she had wanted to spend the day alone in her room after all. Briar Rabbit has nothing on Sam.

Our middle daughter, Emma, is a tad more emotional. She reacts strongly, to say the least, to even a minor disappointment. Around here, we call them meltdowns. And the central theme to our raising of this daughter is to help her control herself emotionally. Because if, and when, she is faced with a catestrophic setback, she will most likely decide that no one loves her and have her thousandth "worst day ever".

That leaves the youngest daugher, Abigail. Everyone who knows her agrees that she will probably do great things, as long as she can be persuaded to use her powers for good. We have struggled to enforce our will with this child ever since she could crawl. I believe that God send her to us in order to deal with our pride. All of our other children, at a very young age, understood the meaning of the word "no". To Abbey, the word is only a suggestion that she takes into consideration. She's very bright, so she knows what activities are likely to result in severe pain or loss, and she avoids those. Everything else is an adventure to be had. So what are you likely to hear when you tell her that she cannot pursue her life's dream? Probably nothing. But you'll find out later that's she's simply gone and done it.

I was sharing these observations with a friend yesterday, and she encouraged me to document them. We spent a few minutes pondering what careers might best suit these three related, but otherwise worlds-apart, sisters. Here's what we came up with. I'd like to read back in about fifteen years and see how close we got.

Of the three, I think Samantha will be the most nurturing mother. I see Emma joining the Peace Corp, or the mission field, travelling the world taking on the burdens of the least fortunate. I can just imagine the letters home. I can't even guess what Abbey will do, but I'm sure it will be something that everyone said couldn't be done.