The Preschooler Has Left the Building

She is five, Thank God Almighty, she is five!  The one thing that has never changed about Cecily is her desire to be older than she is. I think five is going to be the year that she settles into just being her age.  For years she has been pushing ahead and pushing the boundaries and my patience along the way.  Then over the past few months, it has stopped.  She has settled into her self as if to say I have arrived and am finally where have always wanted to be.  As she told me the other day, five and seven are her favorite numbers so she expects this to be a good age.

This is my letter to her on her 5th birthday.

Dear Cecily,

Do you know what I have always hated most in life?  It is being bored.  I thrive on a challenge and my mind craves to always be figuring and thinking.  The past five years you have helped to keep me not bored.  You have given me challenges that I had never imagined to encounter in parenting, but that is the joy of parenting.  It is never what you expected it to be.  If I had to think of five words quickly to describe you they would be sharp, energetic, creative, loving, and fun.

This past year, you have started to move beyond princesses and are now showing a real interest in sports and super heroes. You have just begun to play soccer and I have never seen you get dressed and out the door more eagerly than to head off to soccer.  There is a lot of energy in you so running and playing as much as possible keeps you happy.  You do still have a love of TV and Backyardigans and The Fresh Beat Band have been your most recent favorites.  This past winter, we went to a Fresh Beat Band concert and it was certainly an amazing experience watching you dance and sing along with each song.  You are not shy, so running into the aisle and pushing towards the stage came quickly and easily.

I would love to announce your love of learning, because me being a teacher there is not much that thrills me more than teaching both my kids. Learning is tolerable to you. You have learned a lot and will sit for a long time doing homework, but you really are not interested in learning to read just yet.   For now you can read some sight words, count by 2's, 5's, 10's, add single digit numbers, and write several words including your first and last name.  You enjoy listening to stories and have had a great time taking many books out of the library this year.

Things that can keep you busy for hours painting,playing with your dollhouse and  play doh, singing, tumbling, swinging, and dancing.  You have enjoyed attending preschool this year and staying for lunch a few days a week was a welcome addition to your schedule. You are socially driven and love spending time with friends.  In quiet times your loving side shows in the ways you always make sure to give attention and love to everyone in the family.  Your kindness and compassion shines through in your care of animals especially dogs.

In the future you have declared that you will be a dog trainer, artist, and nail technician.  If you ask me I am thinking CEO, but hey I am just your mom.  We can't wait to see the amazing things you will do in this life.


Love,
Mom