Some days it is easy for us to forget that Kiera is only five-years-old. She acts so mature.
For instance, last Christmas, Aaron and I bought her several older than her age items. Santa brought her a Wii and we bought her some games to go along with it. We also bought her clothes and earrings. It wasn’t until the week before Christmas that she mentioned she wanted a doll.
Aaron and I looked at each other after she left the room and realized that we hadn’t bought her any little girl toys. Needless to say, she received a doll on Christmas.
There was a day, I was visiting with Kiera’s after school teacher. Kiera had been in the after school program for over a month by this time. We were watching Kiera play and she said to me, “She always acts so grown up. Today is the first day I have seen her play as a kid.”
Now, please, don’t misunderstand me. She does act her age from time to time. And we also make sure she plays like a child frequently. We play lots of games around the house and we play our fair share of Barbies. In fact, that is usually how our Saturday mornings start out.
Let me just set the stage for you. Imagine being cuddled up and sleeping soundly in your soft comfortable bed after a long week. Your room is dark, cool and quiet. It’s perfect…then you feel the slightest tap on your shoulder and you hear the word “Mommy?”Prying your eyes open, you see a small shadow standing beside the bed. You manage to mumble coherently, “mmmhhmm?”
“You want to come play with me?” is the next sentence that you hear. It is said in the sweetest, softest voice you can imagine.
Now, I ask, how can you refuse?
We don’t. One of us will get up and go play while the other one rests. We do ask her for a few minutes so we can make a cup of coffee and properly open our eyes before we dress Barbie to go on a date.
It is amazing to watch the shift in her from five to seventeen. This weekend, my Mom and I took her to a local clothing store. I grabbed a couple of dresses for my little diva to try on while I was trying on clothes.
“These dresses are fabulous!” she exclaimed as she ran her hands over the soft, flowing fabric. “They are fit for a princess!”
Once she had a dress on, the standard trip out of the dressing room was made to the three-way mirror. If you don’t remember, this is where the twirls, dancing and curtsies are performed. After the obligatory few minutes in front of the mirror are done, then it is back to the dressing room to change into the next ball gown… I mean dress.
This time as we slipped our own clothes back on, she had an unusual request for me. “Mommy, can I carry your purse when we leave?” she asked.
I considered her question for a minute. “Why do you want to carry my purse, angel?”
Sliding her sandals on her feet, she replied nonchalantly, “I want to look like a teenager.”
I’m pretty sure I had a few gray hairs sprout at that declaration.
“Ummm…” I intelligently answered.
“Am I a teenager?” she asked innocently, looking up into my face.
‘No…no…you still have a few more years,” I answered before mumbling “Thank goodness” under my breath.
“So, can I carry your purse?” she asked again.
I hesitantly looked at my not so little girl and zipped the pockets up before handing my purse over to her.
She confidently exited the dressing room, shoulders tossed back, head held high and led the way out of the store. Once we made it to the car, she switched back to my little girl. She handed my purse over as she climbed into her booster seat and planted a sweet kiss on my forehead as I leaned over to buckle her in.
With that sweet kiss, I felt the gray hairs lie down and hide back under my normal color for just a while longer.
Rowonna McNeely is a graphic artist for Willie’s T’s Screenprint & Embroidery. She is a mother of a five year old girl and step mother of two adult girls. Her crazy life includes a dog, Sloane and psychotic cat, Gracie. Both females. She is married to her prince, who is outnumbered by the opposite gender.
