"And you?"

This is how my daughter responds when I tell her she is going somewhere or doing something that doesn't involve my presence. "And you?" "What you doing?" "What time you home?" I want to snarl back....don't worry about it and stick my tongue out at her. Instead I use my big girl brain cells and tell her every single thing I'll be doing while we are apart. Every. Single. Thing. Yesterday to change up the monotony I forced a smile and asked her why she wanted to know? With kids I've learned to never assume. Is she giving my whereabouts to an assassin or a human aggressive dog with an appetite for big pores? Her answer....(big smile)..."Because it make me happy."

And I'm done. Yep. Heart is melting. Either this girl is really good at playing cat and mouse or she actually does realize how much more amazing her life is when I'm around. I'm going to choose the latter.

We got a text from her teacher Thursday that said she had to tell Richa and another little girl to stop playing around on the carpet when they should have been listening. Stop it! SO PROUD! She joined all the other little girls in her class during recess this week instead of sitting on the picnic table, held one of her friend's hand in the pick up line, and then talked my ear off the entire way home about all of them. She's letting people in! I'm sure I'll be the last one added to the VIP list, but gosh it makes me ecstatic to see her opening up.

She's so afraid to put herself out there and initiate connection, and I get it. What if they leave too? I understand her fear and I tell her that. She has so much to offer though. Not only is she genuinely funny, but she truly has a heart of gold. In America we are overly expressive. We write blogs detailing our every thought (cough cough), we use our hands to talk, we are LOUD, our language is expansive, we hug and kiss, and we say what we think. That was the main difference I noticed between "us" and "them" while in Hyderabad. Even our Indian friend Ernest validated that. Americans are less filtered. I'm sure meeting me permanently cemented that cultural stereotype for him. So getting Richa to open up and tell people what she's thinking, needing, and feeling is going to take time but (and I tell her this) she is worth knowing.

She was invited to spend the day with one of her new friends from school and she's still walking on air. God has put a group of kids in her life that are PERFECT for her, and she loves them all so much. "Bring them here now please?" Then she'll name like every girl in her class with the exception of one boy. I tell her all the time that I can't produce people or body parts (she's always asking for a real leg) out of thin air, but she's not grasping the concept. "I'm not Jesus or a wizard sweetie." She thinks that's funny and will proceed to call me Jesus at random times. Typically when we're in public and other people can hear.

All in all my moment of relational clarity after the tantrum of 2016 has given me two really nice days with my daughter. I'm backing off of her and myself, and as a result there's a different energy in the air. Didn't have to use my A.K. I have to say today was a good day.