Joys, Comparisons and Concerns

Oh how my girls make me smile...and laugh...and roll my eyes. :)  I have so enjoyed watching their relationship grow and I pray that they are best of friends through adulthood (with I'm sure a few ups and downs during their adolescent years).  This picture is telling of the time when Maddy is home from school. They are inseparable.  They can hardly stand to not wake each other up in the morning to get their playing started. About the only thing that separates them is when, about once a day, someone is in time out for pumeling the other one. 

 I love how uniquely different they are and yet how deeply connected they are to each other.  I find joy in seeing them use their unique gifts. 
 I pray, by God's grace, that I can help them both see themselves as God does...his masterpiece...fearfully and wonderfully made...in his image. That they would be able to realize their weaknesses and strengths as preparations for the job God calls them to do in his kindgom. I know they are only 4 and 5 1/2...

 I pray that Madelyn's super encouraging spirit combats the intensely competitive nature of Callie.  I am thankful that Madelyn praises Callie for how quickly she learns new things and that it is fun when Callie can do things as well as Madelyn.  I pray for the right words, when someday(because it will)  they realize their strengths are different and the younger one can do something better than the older one, and vice versa.   I pray as a parent I help both girls find their God given strengths and talents.   I worry about comparing my girls in an unhealthy way.  I worry about giving (or not giving) them equal opportunity to maximize their strengths.   Callie's strengths are more visibly obvious than Madelyn's.  Madelyn is deeply compassionate, insightful to the needs of others, spiritual, loving, encouraging, helpful, a good judge of character and extremely relational.   Callie is introverted and blunt. She is extremely coordinated, learns quickly (both physical skills and academics) and is coachable. She's a problem solver, and as stubborn as they come, in part because she fears the unknown.  She always has to be right. 

Maddy sobs, cheers, screams, jumps, then sobs again through movies (quite comical actually) but can't catch a ball to save her life, let alone dribble it (more on that later).  Callie can dribble and catch balls, spike a volleyball, swim the length of a pool with two different strokes but is only emotionally involved with the movie if she is scared.
I desire for my kids to exprience success as they use their gifts. 
I understand how to develop athletic and academic gifts.  I'm not as confident about developing Madelyn's more creative and personal side. 

But joy is lost when we are concerned for our children's health and things that may impede their ability to do as well as they are capable of doing.  Madelyn's eyes are my concern.  I know my concern my seem minor compared to other health challenges in children.
I guess I just need to vent. I am concerned about Madelyn's vision.  Being an athlete, I will admit it bothers me my daughter can't catch a ball, or dribble it, or well.. look coordinated when she tries things.  She'll grow into her legs, right?   These skills...or lack there of...are made more obvious by a younger sister who does them so well. 
I get frustrated when I don't think she is learning academic concepts as quickly as she should.  I begin to wonder how much of it is her vision and are we doing enough to provide her the support and tools she needs.   She has glasses to correct her farsightedness, but one eye is stronger than the other so she can't see clearly up close or far away.  Her bi-focals are supposed to be helping, and she is making progress with reading. But how much is she missing at school because her eyes and mind fatigue more quickly? Did we make the right choice sending her to Kindergarten as a young 5?
 She also has problems with tracking a moving object.  Although she may just not be exceptionally coordinated (which I can deal with), it is as if she doesn't have the natural reflexes towards an object moving at her, because, in my opinion, she doesn't have the visual discernment to 1) see it coming at her or 2) perceive with accurate depth perception about how far away it is.  If you throw a ball at her, it will hit her before she responds to catch it.  Actually it is sadly comical. This has become a more major concern for saftey reasons now that she is in school.  The poor kid is going to get wholloped in P.E. or on the playground.  I have avoided putting her in a team sport type settings, like T-ball or soccer, for the legitimate fear of her getting hurt.  I have wonder if she's bad because she isn't coodinated or just looks ackward because she can't correctly anticipate the point of contact.  I'd look funny too if  I tried to kick a soccer ball at the wrong times, or swing at a softball that I couldn't see coming.  And then the mommy guilt kicks in.  Do I need to bring her to a different optometrist?  Does she really have the right script?  Would vision therapy help?  Is the Dr. right, that once her focus is fixed, over time her muscles will be able to stabalize and focus?  How far behind is she going to be once she can see correctly, assuming she will at some point.   Questions that have no easy answers.