A Little Girl

As I have watched Peter growing up, Mike and I have been amazed at his fearless attitude. Nothing seems to scare that kid - he's never been afraid of the dark, talking in front of people, making new friends, heights, speed, nothing. Not even several visits to the Instacare and stitches have seemed to hinder him much. Then, along came our darling girl, Elsie.
Elsie is a girl just as Peter is a boy. Every day, she wants to wear a frilly dress, sparkly shoes, and will color and cut-up paper for hours. Just as Peter makes great sound effects for bombs, jets, and machine guns; Elsie makes great sounds for horses, fake laughter and cries, and babies. When Peter plays, he needs good guys and bad guys. When Elsie plays, she needs mommies and babies. I am amazed at the differences between the two.
What's been interesting to me lately is all of Elsie's fears. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised - I was afraid of the dry-wall splotches on my wall growing up, as well as the tooth fairy. Anyhow, here are a few examples. When Elsie hears any kind of rumble, she looks at me with panic and asks, "What was that?"
If I don't have a good enough answer or imply that it might be thunder, she bolts for the house at top speed, yelling, "I don't want to get zapped!" All the while urging the rest of us to follow.
She's also afraid of spiders. Last night I heard her crying in her room, when she was supposed to be sleeping. Annoyed, I went downstairs to tell her to quit whining. When I get there, Peter informs me she's crying because she's afraid of poisonous spiders. OKAY. I reassure her she is very safe in our house, that moms and dads and babysitters are here to protect her. Unconsoled, she responded, "But Mom, they have secret ways of getting in!"
I even have a hard time getting her to play outside sometimes because she's afraid of bees and wasps getting her. Today, she pointed out a fly in our house and said, "A bee was coming to get me, and that fly came and protected me!"
A couple days ago, after a bit of coaxing from me and one of her friends, she decided to go on a bike ride. We donned on her helmet, and she was about ready to take off, when she looked up at me and said, "Mom, will you protect us from PREDATORS?"
I tried not to laugh and said, "Sure."
It's a whole new ballgame - boys versus girls. Sometimes I wonder why we even try to compete with each other. We are such different beings, and that's okay.