Fluffy Knees

                        
I had to go to the kid's school last week and I am walking down the hall and I spot my little one's teacher. I am looking for her in the line of children and I see these arms waving around. I walk closer and there is my six year old in line, waving her hands and doing a little dance as she walks along. All the other kids were walking calmly with their hands at their sides and no one was acting like her behavior was unusual at all. Which means she does that all the time. I was not surprised.

Before I could get her attention her teacher came up to me and said, "I have a bone to pick with your daughter." I love her teacher and we are very friendly so anything out of the ordinary I hear about. "I was wearing shorts yesterday and she told me I have fluffy knees!" She laughed. I am glad she has a sense of humor. That's by baby. She will tell you what she thinks. She is a truth giver. I said, "Believe me, it could be worse." It could be. That very morning she told me that I have an "outrageously big butt." Those were her exact words. It's not just big, it's outrageously big. That's taking it to a whole other level.

If my daughter tells you the awful truth it means that she loves you and feels comfortable with you. She wouldn't randomly go up to people and tell them they have fluffy needs. She only reserves her truth for friends and family. She reminds me of my youngest sister. She is brutally honest. When my siblings and I were teenagers we would always ask her how we looked. Our parents always said we looked nice and even we did to each other - but my baby sister would pick you apart from head to toe. She would tell you what was wrong with your hair, your shirt made you look pregnant, your feet were smelly. Then we would know and could improve. It's not that she was trying to be mean. She is just objective. She shares her observations. I wish I could be more like that.

Later that night, I had a discussion with my 6 year old about thinking about other people's feelings before we speak. She nodded and said, "But mom, her knees were really fluffy and weird." What am I going to do with this kid? Just love her.