“Vivian’s dad likes purple.” My five-year-old daughter tells me, “That’s the same color that you liked when you were little!”
I smile. We pulled away from the school pick-up line. My daughter is five. Out of all the things V learned in school that day, she’s most excited to tell me about this fact. She and her friends love to talk about their favorite colors.
There’s a sweetness about my five-year-old little girl that I want to remember. In pre-k this year, V’s been slowly introduced to the life of a student. At age five, she’s independent in many ways. She picks her own outfits and gets herself ready for school. Then she’ll speak, and I’m reminded she’s still little. She says cute things like “puppy prints” instead of “paw prints.” Sometimes, I’ll tell her the correct term for something, like “paw prints,” and then I’ll feel sad because she might never say “puppy prints” again.
Through these conversations, I see the things that trouble her. She tells me about issues at school. On the playground, her friend at school wouldn’t share the playhouse. Her friend insisted it was her house. Violet was clearly upset about it. We talk about sharing toys with others.
Before I had kids, a five-year-old seemed so old to me. Now, I have a five-year-old, and she seems so little to me. We’ve added another baby to the mix, but I still tell V she’s my baby.
Seeing her grow in her own interests and hobbies brings me more joy than I had imagined. V recently learned the backstroke at swim lessons. It was up and down; at one point, we almost stopped swim lessons. Her determination and hard work paid off, and one day, she took off and swam.
At home, she has projects she likes to work on, like the 300-piece puzzles she was gifted for her birthday. She’s always loved puzzles, and my husband and I are amazed at what she can do when she challenges herself. V is eager to join me in the kitchen when I’m baking something. Little brother sits in his high chair nearby, and she stands on a chair, ready to mix ingredients. I smile and tell her that she and her brother will bake cookies together when they’re bigger.
Age five has brought with it many challenges. The toddler years meant we were dealing with a child who would throw tantrums over things that didn’t make sense. Now, she understands things much better. She wants to do things HER way. Stubbornness, met with the ability to reason, is a strong combination. We’ve been late many times because of these battles. I’m told this is in issue well beyond the pre-k years.
As we approach kindergarten, my daughter often asks me when she’ll start kindergarten. A late September birthday, she missed the cutoff. That’s fine in my book. However, she cannot wait for the fall because fall means she’ll start kindergarten. “Soon I’ll be 6!” She tells me. That stops me short because she’s right. Time is moving so fast.
What a sweet and intentional testimony to these younger years! Keep up the great work, Mama!