a row and a wow

So Olivia and I had a little tiff yesterday morning about whether or not she should wear her jacket for our morning jog - It was 35 degrees when we left the house. I literally wrestled her into the jacket (I'm not proud of that...) and 5 seconds later she had it off. I was so frustrated and so I just threw the jacket into the back of the stroller, buckled them in, and set off. The air was brisk and I confidently waited to gloat when she told me she was cold. But I kept jogging and waiting, and she kept talking about the birds and the flowers and didn't mention the cold once. Halfway through the trip, she asked, very logically, "Mom, why can't the kids just do what the kids want to do, and the grownups just do what the grownups want to do?" Makes perfect sense. I realized that perhaps I need to trust her a little bit more, allow her the freedom she really wants to make her own decisions and live with the consequences. There was really NO need for me to wrestle with her to get her to wear a jacket... I'm impressed with how simple her comment was, and how expressive it is of her 'condition' these days. I plan to relinquish my desire for control and offer her a bit more freedom. Hopefully, this will work for our good and give us all a little more...peace. :)