Dear K, 6 years old

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For your birthday, we bought you a bicycle off craigslist. Shiny pink with periwinkle blue, it glittered in the garage. It wasn't brand new, but you loved it just the same - hopping from one foot to the other as your dad tightened the headset.

Dear K, 6 years old 1

Long and lean, you are limber and strong. When I go on runs around our neighborhood, you like to join me for the final cul-de-sac. You ask me when we will run in a race together.

You decided all on your own that you wanted to have a hiking party. We crawled out of bed early on Saturday morning, hung up decorations (that you made yourself), and met friends at the trailhead. You wore your hiking boots and a dress, leading the way as you do. About halfway in, you took off your shoes and ran along the creek in bare toes, laughing. The outdoors is a part of you. I know you feel at home with the breeze in your hair, whispering through the trees.

Dear K, 6 years old 2

When I took a video of you this afternoon, you pretended to play Mary Had A Little Lamb on the piano. I asked what you wanted to be when you grow up, you said, "a nurse or a librarian." At the end, you said, "that's practically all I have to say."

Six years old, you stun us with your acute observations and your tender heart. You love intensely. You fight injustice. You seek truth.

And what a doting big sister you are! You stand up for O, protecting her with your arm around her shoulders. You tote 5-month-old A around like you're a mommy, carrying her over your shoulder. She grins at me as you walk around the room. In the mornings, you come and take her from our room and carry her into yours - watching over her as your dad and I sleep a few more winks. You affectionately call her "Jane" and beg to have her sit next to you at every single meal.

My Artist - there's not a day that goes by that I don't find you with crayons, markers, and colored pencils. You create pieces that are beyond your years, including minute details that startle us. If I were to draw a portrait of YOU, I would draw you with your head leaning over a piece of paper, blonde curls falling over your eyes, blue eyes in concentration.

Dear K, 6 years old 3

At six, you like sliding down water slides, playing with friends, going new places, learning about the human body, reading fairy tales, wearing fancy dresses, and eating frozen yogurt. You're not a fan of phonics (neither am I), but you love books of all kinds. We appreciate the same kinds of storybooks - the ones with beautiful illustrations that are based on true stories.

Sweet K. You light up the world - you light up my world too. You are a scientist, a doer, a goer, a please-let's-try-it kind of person. So, so proud of who you are - and who you are becoming.

©2024 Stephanie Sheaffer - All Rights Reserved
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