Almost twelve years ago our household was gifted with a beautiful, blue eyed fair princess. Our guinea pig child, the first one to pave the way for two more. Actually that’s a bit inaccurate; we practised on the hound for quite some years. Almost twelve years ago we had no idea how that time would fly by. We looked at parents of slightly older children (a whole 5 or 6 years old!!!) and thought how big those kids seemed (and how haggard much older those parents looked – eek), and couldn’t for a moment imagine that we’d be there sooner rather than later. All of that stuff was forever away. I blinked. That little fair princess still has eyes which are a brilliant blue in some lights, fading to a lovely soft grey in others. She still has milky white skin. The baldy look has been (thankfully) replaced with the thickest mane of blonde hair. She’d rather not be called a princess. Oops.
That blonde mane fresh out of its Bali braids earlier in the year.
She is smart, funny, quirky and strong. She is sensitive, empathetic and wise. She has enviable ethics and a sense of social justice possibly beyond her years. She has overcome some big health obstacles and continues to triumph. She is in her final few weeks of primary school.
Cue helpless inner wailing. I now look at those parents of school leavers and know that it’s just another blink away. That’s scary on so many different levels. But you know what? I’ve also decided that the kids are pretty perfect at any stage of their growth. I’m just the privileged one to help them share their journey. They’ll always be there, just continually morphing into someone bigger and better (I hope!!! No, I know.). Still wailing on the inner though.
So in a few weeks’ time I’m going to clutch the hub’s arm and walk into that church with sunnies firmly planted and tissues in hand, to witness her graduate and to watch her dance that poignant dance that the Year 6 kids do each year. God knows I’ve teared up each year for everyone else’s kids, heaven help me.
Wish me luck. She won’t need it. She’s just fine as she is. A perfect specimen. Our special girl.
PS Writing now as won’t need another excuse for more soppiness when the time comes. Send me good luck vibes, people! And virtual wine.
All Our Days 
Oh my, you have me reaching for the tissues also! I’m a big cry baby too when I think too long about the fact that my babies are growing up. Your little princess…ah I mean daughter, sounds like a delightful young lady. I wish you both well! x
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Thankyou so much, Shauna! I think there’s lots of us overly sentimental mums out there!! This also marks the end of that relatively easy, tidy period in time whereby the three kids have all been at the one beautiful school, and we’ve just had the best year! It’s hard to let go of that….as well as the fact that the girl has loved every minute of her primary years. Sorry about the tissues! It’s lovely to know I’m in good company! xx
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It’s a big thing this whole ‘kids moving on’ thing isn’t it? Parenting is a constant wave of changes, from not needing the boob/bottle anymore to not needing our opinion on ANYTHING to not needing us to drive them around anymore (although thankfully they do come back wanting those opinions again – phew!) I KNOW there are more stages to come (PLEASE DO NOT mention the whole “I want to move out” conversation – unbearable and hopefully quite a few years away!!!) but that’s parenting in a nutshell really – us preparing these gorgeous little humans to step out into the big wide world on their own – scary stuff!!!
Enjoy the next few weeks before she takes the next step towards her teenage years and I’ll be thinking of you at graduation time!
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Thankyou Rachel!! I remember being at Mother’s Group with this firstborn of mine and the question was posed as to what we had found out about parenting that we hadn’t expected. My comment, even way back then, when she was barely months old, was that I hadn’t expected the pangs of sadness….sadness that she’d outgrown a favourite outfit, or gone up a nappy size (!!) or had grown hair to cover that bald head I so loved to kiss. It’s comforting witnessing the likes of you and your beautiful family, as you’re in that next stage of the journey, and knowing that things are good!! Keep posting updates for me to read, won’t you?! xx
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