Monkey see, monkey do

It must be some sort of rite of passage for young girls... the monkey bars. When they CAN glide across them, you hear them yell, "look at me." They proudly display the calluses on their hands. But when they can't do it on their own, it's sad to see the frustration.

Our four-year-old so desperately wants to do everything her sisters do, especially when it comes to the monkey bars. But she's just too small. I remember that feeling as the youngest of four children in my family. "They" hopped on roller coasters at amusement parks. "I" wasn't taller than the darned stick, so "I" had to watch. As the youngest, you spend the early part of your life trying to catch up only to figure out that you'd rather go back to being young.

While staring at the monkey bars with tears in her eyes, Ella once asked, "Someday I'll do it Mommy?" "That's right sweetie. Someday you'll do it," I answered.

I won't tell her now, but someday she'll appreciate being the youngest. And someday -- if she's anything like her mommy -- she'll rub it in when the time is right!