Paint Nailish

My daughter Cecilia is 3-years-old. I have written about age 3 before. Although my oldest is not yet 6, Cecilia is my third child to turn 3. Thank God they are so physically cute at this age...it really helps me to remain cool (well, sometimes!).

With a 3-year-old in the house, I often feel defeated before breakfast. I try so hard to be cheery. I've read that mom sets the tone (for the whole family, for the whole day) first thing in the morning...not fair, right!?

In a nutshell, most everything is wrong for Cecilia. The wrong bowl, food, drink, outfit, outing, you name it. And because everything is wrong, there must be loud, dramatic outbursts at every turn. These outbursts are mentally exhausting for everyone involved.

I know that I am not alone. At a play date last week, the other moms of 3s were spouting off the months, weeks, days until their child turns 4. Not that it's magic, but I have noticed a huge decrease in impulsiveness and tantrums once my older two children turned 4. "Only 1-1/2 months," one mom said. "Lucky," said another!

I most certainly do not wish this year away. I would not in a million years trade one day with Cecilia or with any of my children. But, I do pray extra hard for my daily bread. I count to 10 (a lot) and I try to remember that I am the adult. I am not to respond, "You're boring" when a child tells me they are bored.

There is one particularly adorable thing that Cecilia does these days. She asks for "Paint Nailish"...a lot. Yes, this is nail polish. I remember that it was a very extra special treat for Gianna (my oldest) to get her nails painted at age 3. It seldom happened as I had a toddler and infant also.

Time and experience have mellowed me (already...God help me when they are teenagers...ha!). Cecilia has kid paint nailish at her command (I still keep it out of reach, but I hand it over willingly). One afternoon when I was desperate for her to entertain herself for a moment, I gave her a bottle and told her to paint her nails. She did...beautifully, I might add! She spent so much time painstakingly getting those tiny nails perfect.

Layers of colors later, she has almost perfected it! I am hoping that she will apply that concentration to other, more important areas of her life. Her eye-hand coordination should be off the charts as she starts preschool next month!

Thank you God for a colorful journey with this amazing child. Please grant me the patience to lovingly and calmly guide her all the days of her youth. These days of paint nailish will wear away...too quickly.