The Joy of Parenthood

As a parent, I can't think of much else that beats the feeling of experiencing the successes of our children. To be able to see through their little eyes and witness their excitement is such a joyous feeling. Savannah has been our brave child. She's had to suck it up and put one foot in front of the other, as have we, through the struggles of leaving home, settling in a new country, moving house 3 times and school 3 times (in Holland), having to learn a new language to be able to have friends and understand teachers. She's had to be brave, she's had to be patient, she's struggled, she's perservered and she's stronger for it. We are so proud of her and the fine young lady she's becoming.

On Monday, Savannah ran up to meet me at home time with a huge smile on her face. Look Mommy! Look what my teacher gave me! It was a page of stickers with a special note of praise and encouragement on the back, for having completed all of the assigned tasks for that day, for getting it all right and for being such a wonderful student. Yay! We did a little jig and talked about her successful day. The hoorays continued when Daddy got home.

The next morning, when I took her into her class, Juf Annemieke took us aside to again praise Savannah for her efforts and successes. I am amazed at how well Savannah is doing at school. For a child who only speaks Dutch at school, you can be proud, she remarked. We've noticed that the Dutch dish out compliments when it's really meant, so to hear this, has made us all so happy.

It's obviously all falling into place for Savannah now--to be able to keep up to speed with the rest of the class, understand concepts and do well--all in another language. Life is good for this 7 year old. She is realising her capabilities and gets so excited when she thinks about what she can do. Irish dancing (she has just started and loves it), piano (she is amazing and learns pieces so quickly), swimming (just about to receive her first diploma), English reading (she gets so excited that she can now pick up one of her favourite fairy stories and read the words and they all make sense!), maths (we love playing maths games in the car on our way to activities--we seem to be in the car a lot these days!) I am going to enjoy watching this big girl interact with her brand new baby brother/sister in a couple of months. She'll be a huge help. Well done, sweet girl. We love you.