Mom took over today...sigh.

I have been reviewing Cindy’s posts to her blog and I think she has done a masterful job of telling stories, from her point of view.  But, as I sit here in my tiny house in beautiful Pinehurst , Texas, I feel that I should give a bit of information concerning my side of the story.

It is definitely true that I had Cindy reading bills and other mail when she was very young.  What a wonderful teaching tool for her!  By the time she went through kindergarten twice, she was reading pretty well.  Yes, she did experience kindergarten twice and I have been very pleased that she hasn’t mentioned that fact yet.  

For years and years, she blamed me for having her go twice, but her teacher said that she wasn’t drawing her stick figures properly.  Her teacher stated that by the end of kindergarten, Cindy should be adding arms and legs to the body.  She simply wasn’t doing that.  But she could read and that is all thanks to me.  As a blind person, who would have thought those drawings were significant.

As my life has progressed, I have learned that if I don’t touch something to know that it is there, things are absolutely not in my world.  Since I had no real need for lights myself, you should not be surprised that lights were not very important to me.  Again, though it sounds a little strange to our sighted friends, Cindy has a skill that could only have come from her extremely thoughtful teacher!  That’s me, again.  

I could help all of you to gain some of my family’s without lights skills. Though, none of our acquaintances have indicated a need for training in the no lights adventure.  However, if any of our readers would like a seminar on no lights, I would be pleased to teach you.

Another area that Cindy has not totally covered is her feeding as a baby and a toddler. She has failed to mention that by the time she was 13 months old, I could hand her a jar of baby food and she could eat straight from the jar without making much of a mess.  I felt really good about her ability to eat like this.  It’s another of those situations of survival of the fittest.  She was tired of having to eat in the kitchen sink, so she learned to eat very well on her own.  Don’t you think that was a valuable lesson for her?  I mean, she learned that if you want something done right, do it yourself.  This teaching method gave her independence and she was able to attempt to teach her students how to do the same thing.  I don’t mean eating from the jar, but gaining independence every day.

Well, I hope that I have given you a bit of insight about what my child rearing reasoning has always been.  All kidding aside, I have been so lucky to have a daughter like Cindy.  For the most part, we have laughed our way through life. Don’t get me wrong!  We have disagreements but ultimately we respect one another.  I have enjoyed every aspect of her growth and I am very much enjoying watching my daughter being a mother.

Side note from Cindy: I'm taking back over tomorrow.  Mom gets too mushy. ;o)