The Girl has some new furniture. She asked me to help; I did, for a while. But I resisted as well. Not because I wanted to do something else. I thought that at her age, she might get more out of doing a lot of it herself — a sense of accomplishment is a valuable feeling.
Tonight, she worked on the drawers to her desk. In fact, she completed them. And the rest of the desk, as a matter of fact.
I did what I do probably too much: I photographed the event. As she gets older, the Girl is less thrilled with my photographic attention.
Which, given this generation’s obsession with selfies, strikes me as a little odd.
I can see that coming here as well: resisting photographs. It’s obvious to me that for my granddaughter, it’s a matter of exercising control. At her age (5), there aren’t many things that she can decide for herself, but she can surely put her foot down in two domains: in choosing/rejecting what she wears, and in allowing/objecting to our taking pictures of her. And because the option of saying “no” is there to her, I’m sure she will use it. But not yet, thank goodness. Not just yet! It’s also true that my grandkids were raised with cameras being part of their day. They view that as normal. Sort of like brushing your teeth and eating vegetables! I’m sure it’ll change, but for now, I hear that assertiveness shows up mainly in the clothes selection process in the morning.