Mixed Bag of Thanks

Today is a mixed bag for thanksgiving.

• Fever. No, I have not suddenly developed a variant of Munchausen syndrome by proxy! And while it pains me no end to see our toddler acting listlessly and feeling so warm in my arms, it also means that her body's immune system is trying to fight off whatever infection she may have contracted. After taking a dose of paracetamol though, her temperature went down a bit, and she appeared to regain some of her whirlwind ways. So now as I sit typing out this post, she is beside me, watching some Baby Einstein DVDs, babbling and jumping on the bed amidst my telling her to lie down and rest. I hope she gets back into tiptop shape in no time.

• A dificult elimination round for my older daughter's Math contest. She is one helluva smart girl. Scarily so, at times. She started talking at five months, walked by herself at ten months, could articulate her needs in complete sentences by fourteen months, and was speaking in complex statements before she was two. She knew how to read by three. She has zoomed through these milestones, and has developed a healthy level of self-confidence.

However, our fear is that she would take learning for granted, and believe that everything should come easily for her that she need only give minimal effort to something. This is what usually happens in her Math subject. She was recently chosen as one of her school's representatives for the MTAP (Math Teachers' Association of the Philippines) contest, and they had the written elimination round today. They have not received the results yet, but she told us that it was very difficult.

On one hand we are worried, as we want her to progress through to the next round. On the other hand, we see that this could be a learning point for her. We also want her to recognize that hard work is also needed, and that she will not be the winner in competitions simply because she wills it to happen. Slthough she did emerge the winner in an inter-school Science contest a few months back, so she could still be on a high from that one. Ah, such is life.

• Our older daughter's burgeoning independence. She is eagerly looking forward to her camping trip tomorrow, albeit only a day trip arranged by her school. One of the selling points for her is that no parents or companions are to accompany them. At times she still acts like a little kid and persists in asking me or her father to carry her, or scratch her hands or back before she falls asleep. But then she also insists on choosing her own clothes now and establishing her own fashion identity. And is adamant that we not call her by her pet names in school. She really is growing up. I am proud but melancholic.