In the past, she’s resisted strongly.  I’ve pointed along with the words in our service folder to various parts of the service (ie. liturgy, hymns, Bible readings), and many times she has turned away at least her eyes if not even her head.  I have instructed her to stand when everyone else stands, sit when everyone else sits, fold her hands when we’re praying, and find the hymns in the hymnal when it’s time to sing.  However, she has not always done these things and has therefore gotten in trouble many times, too.

I remember one service at our former congregation where she was being so quietly defiant to me that after the service I made her go straight home — without being able to go to Coffee Hour, which meant no friends and no treats! Truly a horrible punishment! — and she and I “did” the service again in the living room.  We went through the various portions of the service, her and me, as we sat together on the ottoman.  She cried through most of it, but she did it.  That was quite some time ago, at least over a year ago if not even two years ago, but the struggles of getting her to participate in church have continued, if to a lesser extent.

But, I think I can confidently say that we’re past all of that now, and I now realize what has made the difference – she is finally able to read well!  Lyd is one who likes to do things perfectly the first time, and learning to read has been frustrating for her.  She has always been very good at reading at whatever ability level she was at, but I strongly suspect that from the start she’s wanted to be able to easily read whatever SHE wanted.  But, unsurprisingly, she hasn’t had that ability.  She’s had to learn the basics, like everyone else has had to, and she’s had to go slowly, making mistakes, but getting better and better as she went along.

But now she’s halfway through second grade, and finally, things are clicking for her.  She can sit down and read almost anything now; well, at least she can read whatever it is she wants to read!  And now that reading is coming much more easily for her, she’s much more willing to participate in church.  She sings along in her lovely clear voice to both liturgy and hymns, she participates, and while she’d still prefer to draw pictures during the sermon rather than listen, she’s getting better at that, too.

It’s interesting to see how much Lyd’s core personality is like her father’s core personality.  Perhaps that’s why it was so difficult for me to understand Lyd over these past years.  I couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t willing to try, and it got me very frustrated with her.  But it truly was just how she was wired.  As time has gone on, I’ve learned more about who my husband is by raising our daughter.  It’s been a learning experience for all of us.

I’m glad that Lyd is feeling more confident about her abilities.  She is intelligent and kind and loving and full of thought-full thoughts.  She is not a lot like me in her basic personality, but her own personality has been given to her by God and is just perfect for her.  She is truly a wonderful girl who is well on her way to becoming a wonderful woman some day.  I am very much enjoying watching her grow up, and I feel very priviledged to be her mother.

But as we watched videos of Baby Jujubee, four-year old Lyd was in many of the videos, too.  Jujubee is four years old now, and to be reminded of how Lyd was at that age was pretty striking.  Jujubee speaks now much the same way that Lyd spoke at four years old.  It’s neat to see the similarities.

After school today, Lyd and I were sitting on the couch as she shared with me some story from her day.  As she talked, I suddenly caught a glimpse in her face of the four year old girl she used to be.  She’s lost the baby look entirely, but she hasn’t lost her four year old look.  It was neat to see how much she’s grown and changed, if just for a moment.

Lyd is growing up so much, though.  She’s ridiculously tall and slim – and hungry!  She’s got a very healthy appetite, and she enjoys eating.  Jujubee likes to eat, too, but not quite to the same degree that Lyd does.  I’m sure that day will come.

It’s awe-inspiring and a bit sobering to watch these girls grow up.

One reason I’ve been quiet is that I’ve discovered Downton Abbey!  If you don’t know, it’s a British miniseries that’s currently playing in the USA on PBS on Sunday nights.  I had vaguely heard good things about it in fall of last year, and then my brother gave me the complete first season on DVD for Christmas.  Not too long after, I learned that Downton Abbey had won the Emmy award for Best Miniseries, and last Sunday night it won the Golden Globe award for Best Miniseries.  It’s apparently one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows ever.  Wow.

So, I finally started watching it.  The very first episode didn’t hook me in emotionally, and I wondered if it would be rather boring after all, but from the second episode on, I was completely hooked.  It’s such great storytelling with awesome costumes and simply amazing scenery.  Portions of the show are being filmed in an actual castle in England filled with multi-million dollar artifacts and paintings.  I watched a behind-the-scenes thing on the show, and one of the producers said that to build a set like that would cost their entire budget.  However, the fact that Downton Abbey films in Highclere Castle gives Highclere a desperately-needed source of income.  So, that’s very cool.

Downton Abbey is about an aristocratic family in England in 1914.  The Lord of the estate had only three daughter, no sons, and now his estate will someday be inherited by a distant third cousin that they’ve never heard of.  The interweaving of stories between the family upstairs and the household staff downstairs makes for quite intriguing storylines.  If you want to read more about all the characters, you can check out this online guide here.

Over a year ago, for my birthday at the end of 2010, my husband bought me an under-the-counter TV/radio/CD/DVD player.  Just before my birthday this year, he finally installed it.  So, it’s been lovely to be able to put on episodes of Downton Abbey in the kitchen while I’m cooking.  I’m rewatching all the episodes, catching the things I missed the first time I watched them.  It’s been a very enjoyable.

The other neat aspect of Downton Abbey is that while it’s a period drama, it is unlike a Austen or Dickens novel in that we don’t know what the ending will be.  One really does have to tune in next week to see how it all works out!  And the writing is just excellent!  It’s such a fun show.

If you haven’t watched Downton Abbey and are intrigued, I believe you can download season one episodes from Netflix or Amazon, and you probably don’t have to work to hard to find it on the internet, too.  Season two is currently airing in the USA, and you can watch those shows online here.

It’s nice to have a new “kick” to be on.  Some readers might recall that I was on a big “Thorn Birds” kick last fall, but that eventually faded away, as most kicks do.  However, this Downton Abbey kick will be different in that it’s ongoing.  There are more episodes to come, and I don’t know how they will end.  Plus, Downton Abbey has been picked up for a third season, and apparently they are going to start filming that next month.  Those episodes probably won’t be seen here in the states until a year from now, but I will have them to look forward to.  What fun!