Why we have certain kids.

I cannot figure out why God gave me my youngest daughter. I mean, I understand the mechanics of how I got her, don't get me wrong (hehehe), but not why God gave her to me. I have it narrowed down to 3 reasons:

• I put my Mom and Dad through a lot more than I thought. This is God's payback.
• God decided I needed to toughen up.
• God thought I needed a lot more grey hair.

Seriously, I think #3 has a lot to do with it, because my grey hairs have increased dramatically in the past 9 years. Sometimes I feel them sprout as I am talking/arguing with her. :D Then again, my Dad has an awful lot, and I am an only child. Hmmmmmmmmmmm......

Back to the subject. My daughter. Dear, sweet, loving child that she is.

Here is the conversation we had last night coming back from church (we were the only ones in the car, because all of the others were sick and stayed home - they were lucky. Coughing up a lung was a lot more fun than this conversation, let me tell you.):

Background: She has decided she wants to go to "real school" and not be homeschooled. This changes daily and alternates between going to "real school" and joining the circus, so I really don't lend a whole lot of credibility to either choice. In between these two lifestyle choices are the days where she proclaims her undying love for homeschooling and wants me to homeschool her future children. (Yeah, I have a hard time keeping up with her.)

Her: "I want to go to real school."

Me: "Well, maybe when you are older, you can go to private school for high school." (Please note the reasonable tone of voice I am using at this point. Enjoy it. It doesn't last long.)

Her: "But, Moooooooooooooom!" (said in a whining, drawn-out syllable - you know the sound) "I want to go to real school and see all of my friends!" (wringing of hands is added for dramatic effect)

Me: "You just saw a room full of your friends not 2 minutes ago. You see them all the time. Besides, they all go to different schools. You can't go to school with them all."

Her: "But I could go from school to school and spend a few weeks at each school with each friend."

Me: (Remember that reasonable tone of voice mentioned earlier? It has been replaced by its cousin - Trying to Remain Calm voice.) "Camryn, they won't let you do that."

Her: "Why not?" (This is said with a genuine look of surprise.)

Me: "Because they just don't. You stay in the same school. And this is not going to be an issue because you are not going to be in school. You are homeschooled. Now, we can talk about this again at the end of the school year, okay?"

Her: "But, Moooooooooooooooooom!! (again, the whining syllable. My left eye begins twitching at this point) That is such a looooooooooooooong (again, whining. *twitch*) time from now! (She adds a pout at this point.)

Me: "It is not a long time. It is only until June."

Her: "JUNE?????"

Me: "Yes, June." *twitch*

Her: "But Mooooooooooooom!"

At this point, Trying to Remain Calm voice is replaced by Completely Exasperated voice. The conversation goes downhill quickly. It ended up with her being grounded until she is 85 and never being allowed to marry or own property.

So, you may wonder, how things are this morning?

Well, so far:

• 73 new grey hairs. Yay, me.
• Camryn greeted me with a huge hug and kiss this morning.
• She wants to be homeschooled - loves it!
• She is going to wait and join the circus when she is 18.