Day 36: Raising a Warrior Princess

I have never felt more in tune with my daughter's potential than right now. I've always sensed she's something different, something special - and I'm not the only one who's had those suspicions. Whether it's my family, or teachers and counselors at her school, many have shared the observation that she is smarter than most kids her age and extremely intuitive. I'm trying desperately during this time of transition to harness the intense emotions she's feeling and teach her how to handle herself.

Among the big changes she's going through (in her words to her class - "my Mom and Dad broke up"), she's also felt like she doesn't fit in. She's come up with coping techniques on her own, like intently watching the other kids to see what their "personalities are like" so she can "copy them in order to fit in." I've been around kids of all different ages for a long time, and I've never heard any of them talk like this.

If you haven't heard of "Indigo children" you should try doing a quick Google search. The subject is quite intriguing, even if you're not a parent. Opinions range from one extreme to another so it's hard to pin down what, exactly, this could mean. 

Essentially, many believe that Indigo children are a new generation of evolved humans, or humans meant for some kind of big, meaningful paradigm shift. The Indigo reference came from the blue aura that many people say they see around these kids.

I have one book that I need to pick up and read again, because it's been awhile. But from what I know, these kids feel different from others. They have a heightened sense of intuition and empathy. They are very intelligent but may get bored in class and could be interpreted as not on the same page with their peers. They're very creative and very imaginative. They may recall past lives. 

Cambria fits these definitions remarkably - and she has since she was very young. At 3 years old, she was telling me ever so casually, how she she had another mommy who was black. But she had died and that's when my daughter came to me. Another time, we were taking a shower and she started dancing around in a circle saying, "Look Mommy, I'm doing a rain dance." I'm sure some of these instances can safely be attributed to her incredible imagination. But then again, sometimes the way she talks and the things she says feel like much more than that. 

Another intriguing characteristic is how much love she has for me. It honestly intimidates me sometimes - her capacity to love and feel. I don't remember expressing myself to my parents the way she does to me at this age. Not that I didn't love them. In fact, I was a very sensitive and intuitive little girl too. But even still - nothing like Cambria.

I've always known there's been something about her that distinguishes her from other kids. However, coming from a family with mental disorders, I feared she might have bipolar or ADD. In fact - she was diagnosed with ADD. Although it's very atypical. According to the child psych we were seeing, she exhibits characteristics mostly of ADD (the mind), but sporadically will have symptoms of hyperactivity. The doctor was quick to prescribe medication and set up a 12 session plan with him so he could do "half the work and the meds would do the other half."

Honestly, I didn't really see any difference with her based on her time with the Dr. and the medication seemed to make her crazy (very emotional and seemingly unable to control herself). I decided to take her off the meds when he suggested a mood stabilizer. And since our insurance changed this year, I can no longer afford to have her see him anyway, which I'm fine with.

So, we're back to square one. However I strongly believe that she is not "ADD" but that there's more to her than an average kid these days and we just haven't been able to understand it yet. It makes me wonder how many kids are diagnosed and treated for having a "disorder," when really they are "Indigo" or just something different - something better in fact, than the rest of us. And what if medicating them is actually damaging their potential or their spark that makes them so great. 

Regardless if this Indigo thing is real or not, it just seems like we may be approaching kids these days in a backwards fashion. There seems to be something "wrong" with them so let's "fix" it. 

I say instead of messing with them, why not learn from them. And challenge ourselves to work in their world. One of my recent explanations to her for why it's so hard to focus, even though she is so smart, is that she has all this energy spread out - scattered all over. If we can learn how to channel that energy and focus it on one thing at a time, she could be like a superhero in whatever she does!

So this is my challenge. To raise a superhero kid. A warrior princess, if you will.