I could (figuratively) wring her neck!!!

My daughter. My firstborn. I do love her. I do.

But, when she takes 15 minutes longer than all the other elementary school children to finally exit the building at the end of her day, I just want to scream.

You see, Aurora has always been pokey--from the time she was born. It took her 3 days to finally emerge from the womb. Yes, you read that right: 3 days!!! From then on, I realized what it meant to have that Fruit of Spirit called "longsuffering". It meant dealing with Aurora's time schedule.

You see, even the most menial tasks take twice as long as they should. For example: Going to the bathroom? Five minutes, MAX, right? No, not for her. She must go stand in front of the mirror, as if to psych herself up for what's to come--or maybe to make sure she looks appropriate for the task, I'm not really sure which. The next time-consuming task is the song she must sing--every time--while on the toilet. And then, of course, there is the washing of the hands... *sigh* Her version of the ABC song (which must be sung twice to get the 20 seconds of hand-washing) is about what I imagine Beyonce's rendition would have sounded like when she was 7. Two minutes into the hand-washing, I am hollering at her to turn off the water.

Now, I know you must be thinking "That's so cute!!!" No! You're wrong! It is exhausting. It was cute when she was 2. It affects her everyday life--especially keeping up with the tempo at school. I don't know what to do about it. We're talking nature vs. nurture here--which even the most brilliant scholars and psychology professors of our time can't figure out! I mean, if highly intelligent, highly educated people can't decide what to do about this sort of thing, surely I'm not going to figure it all out.

In the meantime, I do love my daughter. She is wonderful in so many aspects. She takes her time with things that are important, as well--especially if they're handmade gifts for someone she loves. She is very thoughtful and wants to make sure everything is just perfect. It's very sweet to see how she blesses the lives of others with her thoughtfulness. If only she could do it faster!!!!