Stepping Up Soon

Dear Lila,

Your parent coordinator just sent an email this morning about your upcoming 5th grade graduation and I actually started crying while reading about the details! My little girl is graduating from elementary school! Already!

Love,

Mom

Daily Rituals

Dear Lila,

I woke up at 5am this morning to bake homemade cinnamon rolls for your breakfast (anything for my kids!) so by the time 9pm rolled around, I was more than ready to go to bed. You were studying for your math test and wanted to stay up a little longer to finish your practice questions (always the dedicated student!). I told you to keep studying and that I was going to bed but you jumped up and rushed to the bathroom to wash your hands (since you'd been touching your school book) so that you could hug me goodnight. I love that hugging me goodnight still means a lot to you--and we still do our "heart" goodbye every morning when you go to school and our secret handshake every night when you go to bed. Our little rituals mean a lot to me, too. I love you so much!

Love,

Mom

Sob Story

Dear Lila,

You have given all of your Barbie dolls names and backstories, so when I sat down to play Barbies with you this afternoon, you held up one that was dressed in a sparkly pink evening dress and fancy high heels and told me her deal: "She is the town outcast. No one ever talks to her because she was mean to the mayor in high school. She sits at home all day because no one wants to hang out with her but she is always dressed up because if anyone decides to invite her to a party, she will be ready to go."

Whoa. Dark.

Love,

Mom