She's a Marvel, My Toph

Eassside.

I was certain they had made a mistake.  Certain.

When, after only a few hours of strange labor, the doctor handed me a short, pink bundle of flesh covered with flaxen hair, I was shocked.  My first two children had come into this world bearing a mane of black hair; they were loooongg and olive-y.  So, what was this?!


Meet Toph.

She was the most serious and content baby I ever had, or met.

She looked away from me and anyone else who dared meet her gaze.

She rarely smiled.

She sat for hours contentedly sucking upon her fingers, whether it was for a drive, an outing, or while mum made dinner.

I thought she was weird: as babies, Katara cried and Sokka wished to be held all the time.

But now I know: she was watching.  And waiting.


And waiting.

It wasn't until Toph was more than two years old when the first signs of her personality began to show: she refused to remove her fancy hot-pink sunglasses one summer and later refused to wear her socks and shoes that autumn, as we drove cross-country from Chicago to our new home in northern California.

The next month she learned to escape from her crib.  After that, she could not be again confined, and I woke to the sound of her wee feet running to and fro in the upstairs hallway... at six exactly and yep, on weekends.

Once Toph's personality emerged, it was on--always on.

We all learned that she had an independent spirit which ran from any and all forms of government.

We learned she lived every minute of her life to the fullest and in the extreme: when she was happy, she was exuberant, but when she was angry, there was hell to pay and by the thousands.

We learned that she loved us all with her whole heart... and loathed us that much too sometimes.  Attached to this is her love for all creatures, most times loving them more than people and often loving them to death.

She's killed more insects than Charlotte and yet on total accident.  Many tears and even some funerals, I'm telling ya.

Today, she coddles and handles our chickens better than any who reside here; she gathers insects and worms to give them as candy-treats and deftly rounds them up when they stubbornly decide to roost elsewhere.

We learned she desired more than anything to be loved as passionately in return, but never wished to be in our disfavor.  Although she's killed more creatures by loving them uber-much, today she finally has the loyal love of a dog and could not be more happy.  She says she's been waiting all her life for this.

Should we be offended?

We learned she loved to dance, and yet--completely unlike her sister, the ballerina--Toph loved hip-hop and any music that let her crank her neck and stomp on the floor.  Although she started ballet this year, if she finds my eyes or camera upon her, she'll put on a show indeed and nothing like the Sleeping Beauty.

If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up: "a singer and a dancer, but a cool one."

We learned she was brilliant and yet without a filter: she spoke without considering her words always--most times it made us laugh, sometimes it made us blush, only more recently have I been a wee bitty shocked.

Yesterday was her ninth birthday.  We spent the afternoon together, shopping for new clothes and shoes and accessories.  As we rolled north, the deep bass and synthesizer of the music she chose vibrated the panels of our van and scared passersby.  We held hands and twisted our necks like chickens to the beat.  We smiled at each other and I smiled at her longer when she stopped looking.  And I marveled...

I love this amazing creature that God brought forth from my womb.  She's a bright-shining star in my life and I cannot even imagine how I got so lucky as to hold the reigns and guide her passions.

Note to self: you need to get stronger and hold on tighter.

May God help me.

That's my prayer.

May he help me and guide me and lead me so that I may be a better mother to this mustang of a girl whom I love so dearly.  May I be wiser than the serpent and swifter than the cheetah, to keep one step ahead of her charging pace.

May she never desire to be too cool.  May she always seek after the heart of her Savior and may His love be the quenching waters to satisfy the longing of her sweet and sassy heart.  Most of all, may she find her worth and work in Him!

Toph was and is a marvel, and if the hospital made a mistake, I'm certainly thankful.  Certainly.

No take-backs!