Come One, Come All! (Well, almost all)

The other day Ella and Jackson practiced and practiced a "trampoline show." Choreographed tricks, synchronized flips, cartwheels, twirls... it was adorable watching them get ready. 

And then Kaitlyn asked if she could be in their show.

And the drama, OH the drama.  Ella immediately refused to let her.  Her whole demeanor just fell, and she stubbornly said NO, she did NOT want Kaitlyn to be in their show.  Kaitlyn starts crying, upset at not being included, and poor Jackson was totally caught in the middle.  He kept saying, "I want Kaitlyn to be in the show, but then Ella will leave the show, and I don't want her to leave the show!"  And they all turned to me, expecting me to solve this mess. 

Yeah, like I said, drama. 

I tried reasoning with Ella.  I told her not to be selfish.  I told her if the roles were reversed, she would want to be included in the show, too.  She expressed HER side, that she and Jackson have a routine ALREADY and worked hard on it, and plus Kaitlyn was better at the tricks than her, so basically she was worried about being outshined.  I tried reasoning with Kaitlyn- they DID have a whole routine already, so why not just let them do their routine and they can do a show all together later?  Or how about Kaitlyn be in a show with ME!  I'll do a show with her!  Haha... she was not interested. It wasn't "fair" they were leaving her out.  I was getting nowhere... illustrated by the fact that the discussion ended with Ella stomping off to her room shouting, "I'LL BE IN MY TRAILER!" Okay, she didn't really say that, but she was pretty huffy and definitely let the pride get the best of her.  SIGH!!!

A couple minutes later, Kaitlyn and Jackson went up to her room (their own idea) to try to convince her to re-join the show.  Ella refused.

Well, a little while later, to my surprise, I see all three of them come downstairs, happy as can be, excited to work on their show- ALL THREE TOGETHER. 

They made tickets, set up a "box office," put up signs, and performed an adorable show!

Later, I asked Ella why she changed her mind.  She said that Kaitlyn came in her room a second time and told her she had an idea for all three of them, but they really needed Ella to be the third person.  They needed her!  She told me she thought about how much fun she has with Kaitlyn, and she decided to do it.

Why am I writing about this?  I guess because I know what Ella feels like sometimes.  You know- headstrong, prideful, a little selfish, and man I know how hard it is to back down when I'm like that.  Little Ella, oh I love her dearly.  But she pretty much came out of the womb hotheaded.  I thought it was early terrible 2's.... then terrible 2's... then terrible 3's.... and 4's.... and it just kept going!  DON'T GET ME WRONG, she is so special in ways I can't even describe.  She is an incredible, amazing girl.  But yeah, a little fiery and a little stubborn, haha.  At least with me-- every schoolteacher she's ever had thinks she is an absolute angel. But at home, wow, she can be difficult.  But, the thing about her that I will always remember is her ability to come DOWN from that angry, prideful state.  She fires up quickly, yes, but she has this sense of humility and comes down relatively quickly, repentant and sorry. Since she was tiny, she has done this.  She just needs time to think, calm down, and then she swallows her pride.  Every time.  And every time she does, my heart overflows with love for her.

This time was no different, and it was sweet to see things come together after such conflict earlier.  Kaitlyn didn't give up on Ella, trying to make peace despite Ella being the one mad at HER.  Ella backed down from anger and pride to compromise and meekness. And Jackson, just rooting for both his sisters!  They all worked it out.  With a little time.  All by themselves. 

So, take a bow, kids!  Encore!  (Although I wonder what would have happened if Kaitlyn had taken me up on my offer to do a show with her.  Glad I didn't have to brush up on my trampoline skills.  I might have thrown out something.  Or peed my pants.)