Not as high as it used to be

.

Jay and I picked up this simple woven pen holder during a trip to Thailand (Jay has just informed me that he bought it from the crazy old lady in Chiang Mai with teeth stained dark red from what had to have been many decades of chewing betel nuts) back before we had children. It was never anything particularly special, just a place to stick all those odd pens that seem to accumulate around a house. For years it sat on the counter within easy reach, ready for that number that just had to be jotted down right away.

.

Later, when we had kids, it seemed imprudent to leave a large collection of pens just lying around for budding young artists to find, so in the interests of childproofing (and safeguarding our walls!) we stuck it up on top of the refrigerator. A bit awkward at times, but easier than worrying about who was getting into what. And it worked. For oh so many blissful years, it worked. If Itai, who is turning eight this month and quite old enough to be trusted with writing implements of all kinds, needed to write or draw he'd either grab a pencil from his backpack or ask me to get one down, content in his knowledge that the world would bend itself to meet his every need.

.

Maya, who is just five, is cut from a different cloth. No first child little emporer syndrome here, she is the queen of I'll Do It Myself Land. It's a very different sort of country than the one we used to live in - sometimes exciting, sometimes frustrating, rarely dull.

.

The other day I heard a noise in the kitchen and turned around to find that Maya had dragged one of those tall kitchen stools you see in my header over to the refrigerator, climbed up, and taken down the pen holder. When asked why, she calmly explained that she needed the red pencil it held.

.

Even after nearly eight years of living on this planet it would never have occurred to my older child that he could actually drag a chair over to the refrigerator, climb up, and take down whatever he wants.

.

Maya constantly pushes the envelope. She doesn't accept unwanted limitations and she perserveres until she succeeds. Ultimately, I'm confident these qualities will take her far in life.

.

In the meantime though I'm going to hide the keys to the car.

.

Visit Ruby Tuesday for more ruby red stories.

.