Warning: Contains unashamed bragging.
It’s Pimty Tare once more in this house!
My oldest is six today. SIX.
Six whole years she’s been in my life, and they have been the very best six years.
Yes there have been tired tears and testing tantrums, but I’m immensely proud of my little girl every day.
Here are six things she’s done in her sixth year which I want to brag about.
1) She’s shown amazing emotional maturity
At the end of the last school year her best friend, to whom she has become so very close, announced suddenly that she was moving schools. I was totally gutted. The two of them were bright, they pushed each other to learn and they had a lovely friendship; just the kind you want your kids to have.
I worried a lot about how she would cope without her friend there with her at the start of this year, but it hasn’t seemed to phase her at all. She expressed sadness about it but was never hesitant to go in and never complained. She’s made new friends, she still sees her old friend and is happy and thriving, and I’m so very proud.
2) She’s been the best big sister
Yes they scream at each other and yes sometimes I stand in the middle and wonder what I did in a past life to deserve it but 95% of the time, she’s a brilliant big sis.
The love between them and the way my smallest looks up to her – I could never even begin to compete. She’s his favourite person ever.
I was so worried about him starting school, because he was much younger than she was and so much less ready – so I thought at the time – but she’s really taken him under her wing and it emerges that I needn’t have worried at all. He’s doing amazingly well too. I’m so bloody lucky, and I know it.
She’s also become a big cousin for the first time this year, and she’s pretty flipping good at that too.
3) She learned to read a real book
Listening to her in bed reading to her assorted menagerie of teds is the cutest thing ever. She just moved up to turquoise, whatever that means, and she’s pleased as punch. Me too – as she moved up, the story lines can only get better!
4) She brought me breakfast in bed
Every mother dreams of this day. I certainly did last year.
The cheerios were stale (my fault, I should have chucked them because no one eats them…), there was probably a whole pint of milk in there, it was on a baking tray and the kitchen was a total state, but it was the best ever.
5) She’s been kind and thoughtful
Due to the nature of blogging and getting toys for review, we have a lot of stuff. It would be very easy for her to get spoiled; I’m well aware of that and it’s a huge concern of mine because I’ve seen it in action and it ain’t pretty. But she is happy to give away and donate things, to her friends and to other children. In fact I often have to stop her handing her toys over to friends after play dates.
She recently went through her dressing up box, picked out the clothes that were getting a little small and then took a large bag to the preschool she attended to give to the children there, and was so happy about it.
6) She’s kept trying
This year I decided I could no longer cope with having two days in a row where we came home from the school run and went straight back out again for a club. They just whinged about it, we were always late and it was stressful.
Swimming – being an important life skill – had to stay, but they both decided they didn’t want to do dancing anyway after the summer holidays so we just didn’t go back. Phew.
…Except after a term she decided that she missed it, and wanted to return. I asked about maybe going to a later class, even though she wasn’t yet at the level of the girls there already.
During her first class, she didn’t know anyone and was very shy, which is unlike her, but I can’t say I blame her. The big girls were so good and she couldn’t keep up at all.
I was worried she wouldn’t want to come again, but no word of a lie she turned around to me and said ‘You can’t be good at everything straight away, I just need to practise’ which I’m sure must have been straight off a Netflix series somewhere, but it floored me.
As an adult I don’t even have this mindset; I am terrible at packing things in if I’m not good at them straight away, just ask the running machine at the gym.
And she did keep at it, and she’s getting really good ♥️
