Guest Post: Linda

As part of Amy's Neighbor series, I am so grateful to welcome Linda of Barmitzvahzilla.  I am thrilled that I found her blog months ago.  She shares her wit in each post as she describes situations within--and without--her family.  Her posts never fail to elicit a smile.

While I truly enjoy reading her posts, I am also sincerely grateful for the wisdom she sends my way in her comments.  I feel honored to host her words here today.

The Pint-Sized Tyrant

By Linda Pressman

My husband and I knew we were in trouble. We had just changed our hotel reservation for our vacation last August. He was fed up with going to the same California city over and over again. Why couldn’t we just break free? Why did we always have to answer to her?

I was worried though. I said, "Well, we'd better ask her in the morning. We'll see if she'll go for it."

He gave me a look. He said, "She's nine-years-old. She'll just have to get used to it."

And I thought, Oh yeah. She's nine.

How did I end up with a child who appears to be a child in all things except for her indomitable will? A child in size only, she is a fully-formed human being of such concentrated purpose that nothing can ever deter her from goals in any way, and, in this case, from her vacation goals: in December we will go on a vacation to the same tired hotel we always go to in Tucson, and in August we will go on a vacation to Oceanside, California. This year she sat me down at the computer until I found a hotel in Oceanside identical to the one in Tucson, and then kept me on task until I booked it.

No matter how bored we are once we’re there, she is excited and thrilled every second. She unpacks completely. She sets up her toys on the desk in her room of the two-room suite. She arranges all of her stuffed animals on the bed. She’s different than she is at home - she’s neat. If it's the December trip and we've taken Hanukkah on the road, she's ready with everything: the menorah, the candles, the lighter, she's even organized gifts with labels for each day.

Every morning of every trip she is up at the crack of dawn ready to go eat the free breakfast that the hotel provides with her dad and brother. It's only served till 9:30 AM so she really has to crack the whip to get Dad out of bed. Since the rest of us tend towards a type of laziness and lethargy, she follows us around with the laptop or the newspaper until we look up movie times, then she lassos us into the car to drive to see them. She is a whirlwind of activity and sheer will born into a family who would easily sleep away their vacation.

My daughter, the Pint-Sized Tyrant. She’ll make something of us yet.