Now we are six

Now we are six

by A.A. Milne

When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six
now and forever.

Emily,

You turned six on August 11. Today is September 21. I'm only two months late in writing this letter. At least I'm writing it this year; I seemed to have missed last year and maybe the year before. I will miss no more! I don't want to look back in twenty years and foggily remember how amazing you were at this age.

I won't gloss over it: the last two years have been challenging with you. You are an extremely intelligent kid but you are also very emotional; apparently it's common for these two things to go hand in hand. Being 4 and 5 is emotional for most kids but it seemed to wallop you especially hard and you had a hard time learning how to deal with those emotional swings. Through perseverance and as much patience as we could muster, we seem to have taught you how to handle it all a little better. You still have your moments, especially when you're tired, but you are much more mature about it now. You still need reminding sometimes that you should slow down, take a breath, or take a break in your room until you can talk about things calmly. There is still work to do but you have come a long way.

And boy, you're smart. You love school. You are thrilled by learning new things. You can't wait for me to start teaching you piano (gotta get on that). You love learning French again and you love numbers but by far your favourite thing to do is read. You are reading chapter books as quickly as we can get them from the library. A few weeks ago on a trip to the cottage you read through a Jigsaw Jones mystery (your current favourite series) long before we even reached Algonquin Park.


And while you love being six and being in Grade 1, you are still are little girl who, if given the choice, would somedays (like this morning) stay home with us rather than go to school because you're missing us now that you're at school full days, every day. I love that you feel that way because I feel that too. I miss you.

You still love crafts... any kind. Your favourite show is still Mr. Maker and you often come upstairs after watching an episode with a new craft idea to try or an inspiration for your own creation.

You and Hope continue to be the best of friends. Yesterday you were both playing school in the backyard using the chalkboard that I'm making for you. You both love to pretend together or play sports or put on shows for us.

You've become a big sister again without any problem... you loved Henry from the moment you saw him and you haven't once resented him being around. You run to see him every day and smother him with kisses and hugs and play. He absolutely adores you. You're a great helper to Mummy too, both with him and Hope.


You still show a love for sports. This year you're trying out indoor soccer and you've already told me that that this spring you're going to play baseball. Real baseball, you say, not t-ball. I'm excited to see where your interests take you in sport. Last year in Waterloo, you really advanced in swimming and you're excited to get back to that too.

Our transition to Waterloo and back was hard for you. You had an amazing year there though. You loved your school, your teacher and all the friends you made. We had a great social life there and both you and I are missing it even two months after being back. We hope to get back there permanently one day. I know it will be another transition. But you've got Mummy to watch your back and help you through the emotions of it. I understand it because you got those traits from me. We'll do it together.

I love you so much Emily. You'll always be my big girl, my special friend, my awesome helper, my sous-chef, my gardening buddy. I honestly could never have imagined a more perfect six-year old.