A spirited child - H

I am coming to terms with the fact that we are raising a "spirited child" commonly known as a "difficult child." I don't know why it should be such a blow, considering that she is just like me, but it is. I'm having a hard time recovering and moving on though.

I think it's that it will be tremendously more difficult to raise her and teach her to be her best. I think it also has to do with the fact that she will challenge me at nearly every turn and on many issues. It's also that I will feel the same emotional turmoil she does as I watch her in various situations and feel her extreme joys and her deepest sorrows with her, and I think it's also b/c I know that she _will_ feel deep sorrows that she will internalize and share with no one. As a mother I so want to protect her from that, but I can't. As one who is so much like her, I understand and have experienced it and want to keep her enveloped in a safe place, but I can't. I don't feel up to the challenge, but I have no choice. Lord, help us!