Age is a state of mind
My beautiful baby girl turned 4 over the weekend. We ate princess cake and she got princess presents, and it was a pink, princess gathering. And she acted like a princess, in all ways...sigh.
In recent weeks I've been mentally preparing for the change. I would no longer be the mother of a 3 year old. As time marches forward, she inches upward. Her vocabulary, like my waistline, expanding ever outward.
We listened to NPR on the way to school this morning, and in the pause between stories, Sydney sighed and announced, "I feel old."
A stunned silence ensued.
Her brothers and I looked at each other, and waited. "I feel old and tired this morning," she continued. "I'm going to take a rest."
This, two days into being 4.
There is so much I could say at this point, so many, many things filtering through my mind; suffice it to note that I hadn't anticipated her uttering that phrase for another 50 years.
We dropped the boys off at their bus stop, and I watched her wistful face in the rear view mirror. She was doing her best to look forlorn. It was working.
It was time to turn the clock backward. Summoning great strength and the power of the Gods, I did what any mother would do. I fiddled with the stereo.
"Here Syd, this will make you feel young again," I assured her. Within moments the jazzy beat of the Bear in the Big Blue House theme song filled the car. A slow, pleasant smile graced her face.
We arrived at her school. Looking and feeling 4 again, she hopped out of the car, ready for Monday.
READER'S NOTE: She watched Howl's Moving Castle over the weekend. See the movie. It explains it all.
In recent weeks I've been mentally preparing for the change. I would no longer be the mother of a 3 year old. As time marches forward, she inches upward. Her vocabulary, like my waistline, expanding ever outward.
We listened to NPR on the way to school this morning, and in the pause between stories, Sydney sighed and announced, "I feel old."
A stunned silence ensued.
Her brothers and I looked at each other, and waited. "I feel old and tired this morning," she continued. "I'm going to take a rest."
This, two days into being 4.
There is so much I could say at this point, so many, many things filtering through my mind; suffice it to note that I hadn't anticipated her uttering that phrase for another 50 years.
We dropped the boys off at their bus stop, and I watched her wistful face in the rear view mirror. She was doing her best to look forlorn. It was working.
It was time to turn the clock backward. Summoning great strength and the power of the Gods, I did what any mother would do. I fiddled with the stereo.
"Here Syd, this will make you feel young again," I assured her. Within moments the jazzy beat of the Bear in the Big Blue House theme song filled the car. A slow, pleasant smile graced her face.
We arrived at her school. Looking and feeling 4 again, she hopped out of the car, ready for Monday.
READER'S NOTE: She watched Howl's Moving Castle over the weekend. See the movie. It explains it all.
posted by @traciAWESOME
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