You did it. And I told you not to.
You turned 5.
I begged you to stay 4, just a little while longer- instead you closed your eyes and woke up in my arms as a 5 year old. You looked at yourself in the mirror as you applied your own pink glitter eyeshadow and gave a little pep-talk. When I asked what you were saying, you replied, “just giving myself some encouragement.” I was proud and teary at all the same time. You chose your dress and brushed your teeth. You asked for blush… telling me it was a kabuki brush. And I fell in love with your obsession of tutorial YouTube for everything from baking to makeup.
Your sensitivity and brutality mirror my own- walking around with your heart on your sleeve ready to give the shirt off your back, while always being at the ready to fiercely defend anyone being wronged. Your spirit is the most beautiful thing about you.
But so are your blue eyes and golden hair. Your powerful legs, ready to help you take on your first 5k in a couple of months. You have begged to run the 3.1 miles with me, but not in the stroller. You are 5, and you have goals. BIG goals.
You have invited everyone to your birthday party, because you want everyone to get to swim if they want to. You always ask the bank for an extra lollipop for your sister when we go and she is at school. You ask for kisses and hold my face in your hands as you focus in on my eyes: You know how much I love you, Mom. And my heart is full.
We celebrate
And it is magic.
We laugh and swim and use the photobooth like a boss. There are new friends and old friends and we all just feel the connection of celebrating one amazing little girl.
But you are not little. You are 5. You are smart and honest and brutally beautiful. You are fierce and brazen and the future. You are the future. And all is quiet in the world tonight, as we lay our heads on pillows another year passing- another year of opportunity ahead.
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