Today is Sophie’s birthday. As I pulled pictures out of ancient folders on my Facebook, it brought back a lot of memories of Sophie growing up. She has always kept me wondering, “what will Sophie do next?”
Since the beginning, Sophie has liked to challenge me. She was a colicky baby who cried pretty much her entire first six months. I remember sitters and family members watching her for me and calling to say that she just wouldn’t stop crying. Yep, I know - welcome to Sophie. If you have ever seen those shows with zombies, you have a pretty good idea of what I looked like during that time. The little sleep I did get was under her swing or next to her swing when she would catch a short nap. It wasn’t until we discovered that she had acid reflux and got her treatment that she finally started smiling and acting like the bubbly little baby that had been hiding inside.
Sophie has and will always be independent and stubborn. I remember when she was probably about 2 - 3 years old. We were moving rocks from one end of the farm to the other via the wheelbarrow. Libby was supposed to be helping me carry the rocks to the wheelbarrow but was whining that they were too heavy. That is until her sister still in diapers toddled by and threw one twice as big as the rock in her hands into the wheelbarrow. Which brings me to the next memory just a few short years later. We were hauling wood in and the girls were helping. Libby went to walk around the trailer and banged her knee on the trailer hitch. She was crying and being pathetic until her sister walked up to her and with hands on hips asked her, “Are you going to cowgirl up or just lay there and bleed?” Sophie does have a way of inspiring her older sister. Sometimes to violence, but more often than not - to work harder.
Watching them horse show together was always a challenge. I was always so thankful that the Lord gifted Libby with patience, but sometimes it was even more than Libby could bear. There was always competition and often Libby was on the young or unbroke ponies, while Sophie got the “better” ponies. Sophie never hesitated to rub it in and Libby never failed to remind me that it wasn’t fair. It also wasn’t fair that Sophie had so much raw natural talent, hated practicing yet still did well. I guess that was our first lesson in Sophie’s athleticism and where that would take her in the years to come. Horse shows with Sophie were a lot of “I know!”, “I’m never doing showmanship again!” and a whole lot of wondering who Sophie had run off to play with. But that is one of my favorite things about Sophie, she is my little social butterfly.
Sophie loved living on the farm. She doted on her kittens and loved every one of them to pieces. She always took it so personally when one of them wouldn’t make it. She also was dedicated to her chickens, you’ve heard me discuss before her buff orpington, Sparkle. That poor chicken suffered a lot of handling as it was often carted around under her arm like a much beloved purse. She loved the ponies, the goats and the puppies. I remember the laughs as we watched her try to train our border collie to do showmanship. Wiley always gave every pattern his all, just to make Sophie happy. She sure came along way with her horses from the time she sat on Chic in the arena. I had plopped her up on my big black horse and told her to stay there and not let her move. Behind my back, as I moved poles around, Chic slowly edged her way over to the side of the arena to eat grass. The whole time Sophie was pleading with her to “whoa”. I led her back to the middle of the arena, tightened the reins, giving them to Sophie and telling her that this time she should tell Chic to whoa and mean it. I turned my back but turned around in time to see Chic take a step and Sophie pull back on the reins saying, “Whoa! Mean it! Whoa! Mean it!” That kid can follow directions I guess.
Sophie’s stories ended up being kind of notorious. My students knew that if they worked hard and behaved they might be rewarded with a “Sophie story”. Her stories never failed to disappoint. I was looking for old pictures of Sophie to share here today and stumbled across this short story of her day.
The other day Sophie came home from school with a fat lip. I asked her what happened and she said she fell off the monkey bars. I was sympathetic, “Oh no, honey - that’s terrible.” In true Sophie fashion, her response was, “I was the one that let go, that was a stupid thing to do.”
Sophie is so good with kids. They literally flock to her and I think Soph likes having a group of little people who do what she says and don’t argue with her or hold it against her. Whatever the case, it works for all of them. She has a following of little boys and girls that can’t wait for the next time they get to hang out with Sophie.
A lot of people recognize Sophie as an athlete. She excels at everything she tries. It’s really kind of sickening, sorry Soph - but come on! She went out for volleyball for the first time in sixth grade and worried that she would be behind her teammates. Not so. She caught on to volleyball quickly. She tried a new position in softball and became one of the better pitchers on the team. She went out for track this year to try something new and is pole vaulting at the varsity level. She is currently practicing and competing in softball, volleyball and track but also plays basketball in the winter. it makes for a lot of running around and driving, but we always get to say, “I love watching you play.”
So many Sophie stories and not nearly enough room or time here to share them all. She’s grown into such a strong young lady. I am so proud of her strength. I am proud how she gives everything in her all and works so hard to achieve her goals. She may have also inherited a little bit of perfectionism and that does make it a challenge sometimes. But there is nothing wrong with pushing yourself to be the best you can be and I never have to worry about Sophie giving everything her all. (Except for maybe the laundry, I think she maybe skimps a little on that…)
There will come a day when Sophie will be the CEO of some major corporation, or a doctor, maybe a lawyer or even the next president of the United States. Until then I have to remind myself that independence, stubbornness and her ability to argue about EVERYTHING can somehow be viewed as positive traits. Some day these skills are going to come in handy and I will be so glad that she has them. I’ll just keep repeating that to myself for the next 6 years while we share the same roof.
Happy birthday monkey butt. I am so proud of you and will always love you to the moon and back.
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