I have such an incredible video on my phone… but unfortunately, I can’t show it to you. I try to protect Lila as best I can and not show anything that might embarrass her later on in life. You see, she happens to be throwing a tantrum in this particular video – but there’s something incredible that happens during that tantrum.

To set the story: she had been playing outside (I still can’t get over it). Typically when she goes outside to explore, she prefers that her Daddy and I stay in the sunroom – in a specific chair. I believe that’s to help cut down on the possibility of something unpredictable happening outside – to help make sure that she’s in total control of the environment out there at the moment. She came into the sunroom, grabbed my hand, and led me outside.

She walked me over to the door from the side yard into the garage, and prompted me to open it. I did. Then she wanted the garage door open, so I did that too. I tried to sit down in the garage to see what she would do. Nope – she grabbed my hand and kept trying to lead me back to the sunroom around the back of the house. She wanted me to go back and sit in my chair (where I “belong”) 😉 while she proceeded to go explore the front yard and the rest of the great outdoors….. alone.

Now I tend to be a bit of a push-over, but obviously that wasn’t going to happen. I ushered her inside and she was livid. She threw quite the tantrum (which was fine, I obviously prefer a tantrum to a meltdown). She stomped her feet, slapped her hands down on the coffee table, and was crying. I said “Are you mad? It’s OK to be mad”. And she looked up, looked me square in the eyes and said “Mad!”. I about fell over. She said it over and over, and I told her that it was OK to be mad – she could choose another activity, or we could go out front together. She brought me her “milk” card, calmed herself down while she drank her milk, and then we moved on with our evening.

But make no mistake – to express herself verbally, especially in a time of anxiety and upset – I KNOW how incredible that was. I’m so proud of her! *high fives all around* Go, Lila, Go!