And so we bid farewell to Four.
This wild, precocious, hilarious, thoughtful and surprising child has lived some 1461 days under the bright California sun.
We welcome in her stead; Five, a quantity as yet unknown.
But I’m sure that when she wakes up on her birthday in the morning she won’t be so very different from the girl who fell asleep the night before.
Of course I am not the first to say or think this, but I am still confounded by how that tiny creature I brought home from the hospital just yesterday turned into this enormous sentient being? And by the same measure, was there ever really a time when I didn’t know her? Neither seems credible and yet both must be true because there she sleeps, beautiful and true.
Five years old. How rich I am.
Happy birthday to us both.
{ 19 comments }
This post is simply short, but beautifully long. If you understand what I’m getting at: the world is filled with few who really understand what should be appreciated. You are definitely one of those few.
Dan Miranda’s last blog post..Success Starts At Step One
Happy birthday to the not quite an infant from her fellow sparkly jewellery lover! LLGxxx
Liberty London Girl’s last blog post..A fashion post. Affordable elegance: Lace inspired necklaces
Beautiful post.
We are just saying farewell to five, your words are beautiful. You will enjoy five, just as I will enjoy six.
Sometimes it is good to reflect on how lucky we are to be blessed with our children. Thank you for these words.
I just have to agree with Victoriark, beautiful post…
OMG We’re Pregnant’s last blog post..I’m happy your pregnancy will make you fat!
Past age about 11, I never enjoyed a birthday as much as I enjoy my children’s birthdays! I love thinking about actual day they were born, the intervening years and what the future lies ahead for them. Upside – all that introspection leave no time for baking a cake 😉
Enjoy 5 – it’s fun. I’m doing ‘6’ as of last Thursday….
x clare
clare’s last blog post..Utterances Imagined
such a beautiful post! my two eldest girls turn 4 and 3 in July and i think i will shed a few tears. It is still hard to believe that they were both tiny little babies and now they are these little people, why must they grow so fast (sob) x x
amy’s last blog post..All white
A lovely post which resonated with me deeply. My daughter has just been 5. It’s a big leap from 4, & oh so grown up. I echo your sentiments exactly!
Lovely. S#2 turned 6 months just today. My God, I’m going to keep him in sleepsuits ’til he’s 18!!!! S#1 desperate to be 5; d#1 striving towards 7. Cherish every minute.
PS Dan Miranda: What a lovely, insightful comment.
katherine’s last blog post..Wah, wah, wah
Absolutely lovely post. Thanks for sharing that. What a way with words you have.
Home Office Mum’s last blog post..Sales for sails
I don’t even remember life before kids. And I can rarely remember what a child was like prior to his current age, except in very specific circumstances.
Unfortunately, growing up is encoded in the genes. It happens, whether we like it or not, and no matter how many bricks we tie on their heads.
Love Five, before she turns into Six. And then Sixteen. I’m working on Twenty-one.
The Mother’s last blog post..Demons, Caves and Death (NefHxMotherhood)
My daughter turned 5 in March, and yes, yes, yes to everything you say here, so succinctly.
And why do we say they “turn” a new age? Do we think of them as little books, with each year a new page? Or is it the thought of the seasons turning?
Iota’s last blog post..Lumps and bumps along the road of life
Dan, what a lovely thing to say, and thank you so much for tweeting the post. I have not forgotten my promise to interview, just slightly stumped on questions and overwhelmed by my own life..
VictoriaRK. Thank you. Love to hear from you always.
Abby. I wonder what six will bring. Did you buy ‘Now we are Six’ for your child? One of the things I have earmarked for next year (got Old Possum’s book of Practical Cats this year, mostly for self, if am honest)
OMG, so nice to ‘meet’ you, and thanks for subscribing!
Clare: Good point about no time for baking cakes. I’m throwing in the baking towel for the ‘school’ birthday tomorrow and just buying the damn cupcakes. Life’s too short and there is poetry to be read/written, right?
Amy. Everyone told me it would happen too quickly, and it did. They were right. I keep telling her not to grow and she is very apologetic about it, but it seems that she can’t help herself. Boo hoo!
Paradise: It is amazing how different they are at 5 than 4. We really noticed at her party how the (same) children had grown and matured over a year. Quite shocking and poignant. Lovely, but a little sad. Sigh.
Katherine, I wonder if you had that 3rd because you couldn’t bear the 2nd growing up. It is something that crosses my mind as I hear my beloved One, now nearly 2 start to talk to me (be quiet! be a baby, dammit!). But I’m not quite ready to do the infant thing again.. It might just push me over the edge.
Home Office Mum. Thank you so much for the kind words – I surprise myself sometimes – I am not especially couth in real life!
The Mother. NOOO! I don’t want her to be bigger. And yet I love to see her grow and mature. I wish I could keep a version of her as a little one with me, and at the same time see her become a woman. Oh, the ache of motherhood!
Iota. They ARE like little books, and also seasonal. What lovely ideas you have. They seem to change every day, though and as they turn their own pages, they also turn over ours and their springs signify our autumns. Oh God, have to go and have a drink now!
Oh you horrible woman…making me all verklempt like that…now trying to very discreetly weep at my desk while thoughts of my Two swim before my watery eyes, all golden curls, cheeky smile and little boy smell…
It speeds by, doesn’t i t. Somehow the twist from four to five seems something of a watershed too: more independent, one can no longer think of Five as a baby, really. Trefusis Minor was five in March. Five going on fifteen. The other day he told me I didn’t understand him, and ran upstairs and slammed the door of his room. He’d not have done that at four. sigh. xx
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Happy Birthday to five, it’s a wonderful year and I’m missing it now we’re into six but she thinks she’s 15 ::SIGH::
Liz@violetposy’s last blog post..Mini Monday Link Love
Beautiful post, as always. Five is lucky to have you.
Maternal Tales’s last blog post..Two children are harder than one!
To be honest the 3rd, unplanned but how he would have been missed if he hadn’t have been( if that makes any sense), has been the easiest. I would love to have a 4th but my partner has an older daughter (so it’s sort of like 4 for me too) and, he was actually due to have to snip before I got preg. with Archie; the op was cancelled and somewhere between then and his new appointment…well, lets just say the need to get it done so quickly was less urgent. Guess Archie was just meant to be born! Hope five and family had a wonderful day 🙂
katherine’s last blog post..Got tagged a while ago….
Beautiful post. Happy birthday to Four, err…Five.
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