Take a walk on the wild side.

I purchased this darling water color @ the Vintage Whites Market this weekend with both of my children in mind. It goes without saying that both of my children are strong willed and maintain a certain level of independence  that can be both wonderful and alarming. They are the epitome of "wild and free". This statement rang even more true this weekend.

The usual Sunday after church routine is lunch, Kingston nap, me nap, Mark & Mc watch TV/play. I snuggled in for my pregnancy induced coma and assumed the schedule would continue. The home phone rings. Rings. Rings. Then my cell phone. Home phone again and I answer. Barely coherent, my neighbor a few houses down tells me that Mckinley has showed up and that we too, should come down because everyone from the ward is there having food/visiting the Smith's who were in town from TX. Wait, what? I run in, wake up Mark and he heads down to bring her home.

I hear the crying from two houses down as they get closer to the house. Mckinley with her fleece scarf, mismatched boots and dress walking back to the house knowing that she is busted. She was sent to her room after a talking to,  and eventually, she decided to take a nap too. Mark and I just sat, amazed at the thought process of our kid.

She had apparently made her way down there, mind you, house full of people we know from church, and said "My mom and dad are asleep, so I came to hang out." Now, first, it was mostly alarming. My five year old kid tromping down the street, an easy target for some creeper to come and snatch her up. Second, your mind moves to the thought of all these people saw your kid rolling solo, ragamuffin style to come and play, and how we look as parents. Lastly, in an odd sort of way, it is kind of empowering as a parent that your kid has some independence (I say "some" very loosely). She wasn't afraid and she didn't even give a second thought that she had a friend's house she felt comfortable going to.

I read an article about how, from birth to teenager-dom we want our kids to listen to us, and resist the urge to assert their own will power but then one day, expect them to make choices on their own- to just shift from being passive children to street savvy, Type A adults. That isn't really fair. So, after nap time, with no mention of past transgressions, we played, and tucked our kid into bed- full well knowing this is just the beginning of those "Wait, what?" moments that undoubtedly wait for us tomorrow, and the next day and the next.