Anxious and Comfortable

I've never owned a dog, but have heard that sometimes when they get nervous, they have trouble sleeping or will have "accidents" on the family rug.  It seems to be the same for toddlers, at least the one in our house called Jada.  Friends and family have told me her age is a time of anxiety and nightmares.  And in fact, I have seen the consequences of both lately: number one and number two accidents, middle-of-the-night panics, and other nervousnesses.

Strangely enough, this same girl is quite confident in other settings.  She and Aaron were a two-person greeting crew at Independence Mall this past weekend, walking up to complete strangers and dispensing hugs.  (Aaron found his way to a dance team of attractive young women and put his hands on one of their hips; I had to smile and think, "In a few years, you'd deserve a slap for that.")  They also tag-teamed their way away from our pew, down the aisle, across the front, and up to the pulpit during the last song of our church's morning service. 

By all accounts, Jada is a self-assured, comfortable little girl; but with just enough bouts of anxiety to also consider her a bit high-strung.  A complicated creature, our daughter is.  We love her fiercely through it all.