Have you ever heard of Alice Roosevelt Longworth? She was the only Daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt and his first wife Alice. She was stubborn, defiant rebellious and deviously intelligent. Teddy once caught her smoking, “You are forbidden from smoking under my roof!”
Hours later, he found her smoking . . .on top of the Roof. She is credited with the phrase “If you can’t say something good about someone, come sit right here by me.” In an era where women were expected to conform, Alice drank, smoked, partied all night and gambled in public. She kept a pet snake, often in her purse, and once scandalously jumped into a pool while fully clothed. She later remarked, “That was no scandal. A real scandal would have been if I had removed my clothing.”
She had a tendency to allow herself into the oval office and interrupt meetings to offer advice. Teddy once threatened to throw her out the window.
Married life did nothing to tame her. She cut her wedding cake with a sword. When her father formed the Bull Moose Party, she not only disagreed with her husband’s siding with Taft, she went on to actively campaign against him.
In 1908, in the Capitol gallery at the House of Representatives, she left a tack on the chair of a “middle-aged” and “dignified” looking gentleman. She looked away quickly as he howled in pain and surprise.

As a teenager, she was described as a woman who was self-confident and calculating.

An exasperated President Roosevelt once said, “I can run the Country, or I can run my Daughter. I cannot do both.”

Why am I telling all of you this?
I can run my Home, or I can run my Daughter . . .
I tend to think Alice Roosevelt Longworth would have met a kindred spirit with Regina. I imagine her meeting Reg, “Oh! I like you!” I picture her turning to us, “Go ahead you three, enjoy the tour, I have some things to discuss with this young lady.”
Today my “confident and calculating” youngest daughter begins her fourth year on this earth. She drives me crazy, she makes me turn red and ball up my fists. She causes me to white-knuckle grip the kitchen counter while counting to ten with my eyes closed.
Then she climbs up onto my lap and wraps her tiny arms around my neck and tells me she Loves me and leaves a kiss on my cheek.

She is one of the most lovable little girls I have ever met. Her rapid skittering run, her blunt straightforward style of speech, and her unimpressed expression have forced me to suppress laughter in the middle of anger so many times.
She ties shoelaces together—in a string of knots
Then she hides the shoes
She rearranges…

She tries to steal and hide sharp objects, sometimes attempting to do it in plain sight.
She leaves booby traps around the house, usually in the form of Legos and other sharp little toys
She defies, she does the opposite of what you ask her to do
She ignores, she proceeds with her plan, no matter what
She pokes butts, not just the cheek, she goes for Main Street
She’s stubborn, defiant, and harshly decisive
She’s terrible at compromising
She has a gift for violence, she seems to have an intuitive sense of self-defense, and regularly turns her defense into an attack.

She, in her warped four-year-old brain, sees all of this as “helping” us.
She always has one eye on the future. The present might as well be the past with her.

Reggie, I know you hate the restrictions of being “too little” to do so many of the things you want to do. But you need to trust me Hun . . . slow down. We’re planning on seeing you through many more birthdays. It might seem like an eternity, but it’s been a flash for us.
My tiny, maddening little girl will be a maddening young lady before I can even comprehend it.
I cannot wait to watch you cut your wedding cake with a sword.

Happy Fourth Birthday Reggie! I Love you so much!