I have a darling daughter who was born with a stubborn streak in her. When she was six weeks her dad realized that she never turned her head when he would talk to her. After he pointed this out to me one day I realized that she struggled to eat when it required her turning her neck to the left. I took her to the pediatrician and the doctor quickly confirmed what we had suspected. Her neck was locked to the right. We immediately began physical therapy in hopes that she would be able to move her neck. What first appeared to be a simple problem turned out to be much more complicated and would require a year of intense physical therapy for her to have the use of the right side of her body.

At one point when she was able to move her right arm a little bit she would rub her face with her little balled up fist and get fighting mad. The physical therapist watching her one day said that she thought she was trying to suck her thumb. As my daughter’s frustration built the physical therapist made the comment that if she could figure out how to get that little thumb into her mouth it might be the best shot we had at her ever being able to use her right hand. At this point they were unsure she would ever be able to use her hand and started to prepare us that she might always have her hand locked in a fist and she would likely always drag her right leg.

Over the next few weeks we watched this determined little girl fight to get her thumb in her mouth and then suck like crazy. If the thumb came out she had to start again and would fight to get her fist up to her mouth and then try and try until she finally had her tiny little thumb in her mouth. We watched a miracle, over the next few months, as she sucked her thumb her tight little fist started to relax. She very slowly started to gain the use of the fingers on her right hand and the first time I saw her use her right hand to pick up a piece of food I knew her stubborn, independent streak was the greatest gift our Father in Heaven had given her. The trick would be, as her mom, remembering that it was a blessing and strength, not a curse.

Her independent streak has continued throughout her life. It has been amazing to watch her not give up and at times infuriating when she won’t back down. One area that she has been particularly stubborn is at the dinner table. She took picky eater to a new level at our house. We had the rule that it was her choice if she wanted to eat or not, but the only option for food was what had been prepared. The entire family ate the same thing and I would not make a special meal for her or any of the other kids. She went to bed hungry more than I or she like to remember.

One particular night she and her dad were both getting frustrated with the situation. Her dad was trying to explain that she needed to eat what had been prepared. She didn’t seem to understand why the entire family wasn’t willing to eat pepperoni and cheese for dinner every night. Her dad was telling her that I worked hard to make dinner for the family, and that not only would we eat what was prepared, but we would also be polite and say thank you for dinner when we were done. With all the frustration you can imagine in a tiny four-year old girl, she turned to me and yelled, “Well, me think you food taste like HOT DIRT!!!” I should have been mad and I should have disciplined her in some way but all I could do was laugh. And when the laughter started I couldn’t stop and so that little stinker got away with yelling that my cooking tasted like “hot dirt.” What she didn’t realize is that on days when we were eating pepperoni and cheese for dinner I had to agree!

As a side note: this little girl is much older now and is still a picky eater but you would never know it. She eats what is prepared and never complains even when I know she would rather be eating something else. She is every bit as stubborn and independent as she was years ago but she is also one of the sweetest and most thoughtful people I know! She is the only one that has ever gotten away with telling me that dinner tasted like “hot dirt”!