Baby Girl

Baby Girl and I had a talk.  A long one. 
Andy repeated every word to me that she said in the car. 
Apparently, she thinks I favor Sierra and Kaydence over her.   I told her that isn't true.   It's just that their separate issues require more of my attention.
She's also got it mistaken that Kaydence has had flower beds of eaves due to my brother and his ex being mega famous.
"Skylar Rose Cheesman, your attitude, quite frankly, stinks right now.  Your father and I did not raise you like this."

"And another thing.  I'm not happy about the way you treat Kaydence, either.  She is family, and I want you to act like it!"
"Mom, all I hear about is Kaydence, Kaydence, Kaydence!  Ever since she showed up here, that's all I've heard about.  You act like she is your daughter and not me!"
"That's not true."
"Yes it is, mom!  She's perfect in your eyes, she can do no wrong.  Everything she flippin' touches turns to gold!"
I then told her Kaydence's story, even back to her spending most of her childhood in courtrooms bounced around between her parents.
"So you expect me to feel sorry for her?"
"No, but I do expect you to at least have a little bit of compassion, Skylar.  You should be thankful that you didn't grow up like that.  You grew up in a home of love, with two parents and lots of brothers and sisters who adored you.  Frankly I'm surprised she's as together as she is for the way she grew up."
"I'm your daughter, mom!  All I want is for you to love me!"
"I do love you, Skylar, like nobody's business, but what you do need to do is grow up - fast!  I hate to say it, but you are behaving like a spoiled rotten brat and it has to stop.  Now!"
We didn't have a blowout war, like the one I had with Sierra at the hospital.  The war I had with Sierra was a culmination of everything that had happened, with Sierra getting into all kinds of trouble with the law and me realizing that I was staring in the mirror at a more extreme version of my younger self.
Skylar doesn't have that kind of history.  She's an A student, taking advanced placement courses, and is by all accounts well-liked and popular at school. On top of that, she's an aspiring singer and musician who does sing-a-grams and the occasional Simfest because Andy and I have stressed school first.  She's my younger self - in a different way. 

I decided it was time to tell Skylar the story of her conception in Sierra's treehouse in Hidden Springs.  She's old enough now to hear it.  "So...you're the treehouse girl," I told her.

And what do you know... she laughed!

I know Skylar likes to paint and she likes photography (has since she was small) so I suggested we go downtown to the art gallery to see the new photography exhibit, just the two of us.
Her face creased into a smile.  I hadn't seen that smile in awhile.