SO Proud!!

I am so proud right now. As a mom, my heart is full of joy that is spilling over as the tears well up in my eyes! My oldest child has a hard time with new situations. It is so hard for me sometimes to understand what she is feeling. I normally get frustrated and therefore have a very hard time understanding what she needs during these times.
When she had her first day of soccer practice, she cried and would NOT leave our sides for about 45 min. My husband and I had to tag team b/c we would both get so frustrated. After much discussion, she went out there and had a great time~ just like we knew she would. The rest of the soccer season was great! She played well and made new friends.
When she would go up in front of our homeschool co-op for her presentation, she would start and then freeze and run back to her seat. She did, at the end, go up with a friend to present her poem. Later she told me she really had fun doing that and was glad she did.
There are other instances that I know happened, but I can't recall right now. I am not at all this way, so it is hard for me to understand what is going on in her head. I want so badly to be able to give her what she needs, but I feel so frustrated b/c I just don't know what it is. I will not let her quit. I do that in as loving a way as possible. And, she is always thankful I don't let her quit. But, I don't know how to get rid of the drama that comes before the gratitude.
So, when she was on stage during her dance recital, my heart leapt with her! She loved it! She wasn't scared at all. She smiled and had fun. It was wonderful!
When she got her ears pierced, she confided that it was hard b/c she hadn't experienced this before and she was nervous, BUT she went ahead with it and was so thankful she did!
And finally, the most recent and the initial reason for this post... we went to an indoor water park. At the park, they had this constant wave ride that people could use a boogy board or a surf board on. You started at the top and with the water forcefully pushing upwards, you surfed along- IF you could stay on the board. I will admit, there were many a wipe out that were funny. My daughter really wanted to go on it, but she was scared b/c it was new. Once she finally decided to, she stood in line and watched as people busted- hard! Her two friends went before her and had great rides. It was her turn and she didn't get a good send off and was swept up with the forceful waves. She got off and ran to me and I told her how very proud I was of her that she tried. But, it didn't stop there. She, on her own, wanted to try again! That was so HUGE! She tried and did it two more times perfectly! She had a blast!
I can't express to you how proud I was ~ am ~ of her! But, it is not just me being proud... she was proud of herself for doing it and not giving up. That is the best thing she could received!