As we were getting ready this morning I showed Madyson her picture from the last day of kindergarten compared to today-she got a little sad.
"Momma, my friends say in 2nd grade its not cool to watch Disney Jr...or wear Carter's clothes...or not have an ipod with Taylor Swift and Katy Perry on the playlist. They said, we are big kids now and that all that baby stuff has to go away."
I asked Madyson how she felt about this she said, "I don't want to grow up. I like my shows and my clothes and I don't care that I don't have an ipod.
As we hugged-it made me think-when did childhood become limited to 6 years? When did society/parents make the decision that little girls have to grow up so fast?
This year my girls grew a lot.
Spiritually-They both grew with their walk with the Lord. Madyson is ready to become a Christian.She understands what it means, she understands following Christ, she is ready to talk to our Family discipleship pastor.
Mentally-They have learned so much. Madyson is loving chapter books-Aubrie Kate is focusing on early readers. Aubrie was behind earlier in the year-but she is catching up! Madyson loves math-addition/subtraction etc.
Physically-They are almost twins! both in the 40lb range-just a few inches apart-1 shoe size apart and the same size in clothes! At the beginning of the year they were a 3t and 5t now we are at 5t/6 for both.
Socially -Madyson has opened up a lot this year. Aubrie will happily talk to waiters, ask for to-go boxes and tell you all about the legend of whatever she is obsessed with at the moment. We had to take away Disney shows A.N.T Farm, Jessie, and Shake it up. The girls wanted to "be like the characters" and smart mouth-disrespectful-boy crazy little bits were just too much for me to endure-cue Jake and the neverland pirates.
I think as parents we sometimes get caught up in the "everybody else" world. If everybody else is getting this or doing that-then my child should too. I know I suffer from this because...well...let's be honest...who likes their child to feel left out?
But as the year progressed-I really started deciding that I want my girls to enjoy being little. I want to stretch out the desire to play with American girls and dress up. I want them to enjoy snuggling and watching movies that don't have preteens making out. I want them to belt out their KLOVE songs that speak of hope and faith rather than Taylor Swift's latest break up.
One day-they aren't going to be little anymore. They are going to be big girls in a big world. I want to know 100% that before they enter that world-they are ready. That they will be able to make decisions based on morals and values and not because "everyone else is".
So sweet baby-
You don't have to be a big girl right now. It is summer. I want you to sleep late, play with your sister, run through the sprinkler, get excited over ice cream day, soak in the blessings around you.
When school starts-I want you to go in with a great attitude coming off of a fun summer. I want you to be ready to learn all the fun things you will learn in 2nd grade. I don't want you to worry about who's on the cover of the latest teen magazine-because baby there are so much more important things than that. I want to make sure that you are secure enough to be an example, a leader and to be able to feel accepted for it.
As you prepare for your new chapter in life-lets focus on the milestones you should be focusing on. Growing more spiritually, keeping our brain open for learning, keeping friends close that share the same values as you, and maybe finally defeat the fear of riding without training wheels.
You are going to grow up-but don't worry-I am on your side. We will take it one step at a time and we will make sure that you get to enjoy the things you like for as long as you want. Here's to summer! Now, lets go have some ice cream.
Love, Momma
Great post! I hate that people try to make kids grow up fast...though, I must admit that I sometimes do that when I want the "grown up response" to what I tell Kate to do. Time for Mama to learn, too!
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