Dear Carolyn,
Today you are halfway between 5 and 6. I am not going to kid you. It’s been a challenging few months for both of us. But first, the good stuff.
You are doing wonderfully well in school, as always. While I always knew you were great at reading, you continually surprise me with some of the math concepts you’ve already grasped. Your teacher can’t say enough nice things about you, and while there seem to be one or two kids in your class that you have a hard time with, the rest of the stories you bring home from school make me believe that you’re really having a good time.
Of course, with this past week being spring break, you’ve suddenly discovered that you like being “not busy”. So I have a feeling you’re going to love summer break just as much as school, just so long as we get together with your friends regularly! Honestly, I like us being “not busy” too – we get along a lot better when I don’t have to make sure you make it to the bus on time or get to dance class before it starts.
You have not lost a single tooth yet, which is a source of a lot of frustration for you. You keep checking to see if any of them are wiggly, but unfortunately, seeing as you didn’t get your first tooth until you were nearly eleven months old, it’s not likely you’re going to lose one any time soon.
Your favorite TV show lately is Arthur. You also really like Clifford, Dinosaur Train and the Electric Company. You’ve sort of started shunning the preschool shows like Sesame Street and Signing Time, but at least your sister likes to watch “Ar-fur” with you, and you’ll agree to watch Dora with her sometimes. We do sometimes have spats over who gets to watch which shows and how much and how often, which I’m sure is really only the beginning of typical sibling rivalry issues.
I have to admit, we’re finding ourselves butting heads a lot lately, and I worry about what that’s going to mean during your teenage years. But then there are the times you are loving, charming and kind, and you go out of your way to help me and be wonderful with your sister. I’m hoping to see that part of you a lot more in the next few months. But no matter what, I will always love every part of you, even the difficult ones.
Love, Mommy
