a little me

She beams with confidence every time she is faced with a challenge that is past her experience - she shines with independence as she tackles another battle that is beyond what her maturity level should permit. I don't remember what it felt like to get on a school bus and ride away from my mum - what it felt like as I traveled to and from school every day alone, without an adult sitting next to me and monitoring what I was doing. I imagine the bus ride is a very big part of her love of school - the freedom it presents her with, the ability to be her own person without the attachment of a mother, sister, father. She is able to find her own comfort with what she can and cannot do, what is proper and what is not. I still find myself watching for longer than I need as she rides away, wishing I could go with her - that there wasn't a part of her life that didn't involve me. We'll safely call that attachment parenting :) and despite my best efforts, she has grown up - become a little independent thinker, a strong minded human being... a little me.