Now We Are Six

Borrowing from A.A. Milne, to celebrate the trio's sixth birthday (May 17):

When I was One, I had just begun.

When they were one, DH and I celebrated not only this milestone in their lives, but the fact that he and I survived (intact) through their first year. Sadly, I remember very few details of this year, but I diligently wrote down miles of notes about them. Someday when they ask, I'll be able to answer because somewhere in that sleep-deprived, formula-scented haze, I knew they would want to know and I wrote it down. My only real memory of this time is them coming into the world and my wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into. It didn't take long for me to discover that what I had gotten into was a lifetime's worth of adventures.

When I was Two, I was nearly new.

We started to get into the swing of things by the time they were two. Before the year was out they would all not only be walking but also be potty trained. Both the children and DH and I as parents learned a lot that year - not only that personalities are formed in the womb but that they declare themselves very loudly once children can speak. We finally came up for air ... and you took it all from us in your endless, glorious chatter. The expression "silence is golden" suddenly took on a new meaning in our house - but if I ever thought about our home being without those little voices, I was left with overwhelming appreciation for them, noise and all.

When I was Three, I was hardly Me.

No true, A.A, not true. By three they were a force to be reckoned with, as was displayed by various acts of fierce independence and defiance ... acts which were always then followed with equally fierce acts of love and adoration. This was the "I can do it MY-self Mummy!" and sadly, I watched as they really did achieve many things for themselves. This year also brought the disappearance of those precious cribs, to be replaced by 'big kid' beds. You were indeed hurling head first into big kid land. I was torn between swelling pride and a heavy heart.

When I was Four, I was not much more.

...not much more than a hurricane, tornado, and earthquake all rolled into one, I suppose. This is the year you started pre-school and suddenly knew so much more than we did. You were quicker, smarter, funnier, and more demanding than we could have imagined - plus louder, messier, and more opinionated. You started grabbing your world with both hands - mastering the art of swimming, grooving to music, speaking some Hebrew/Yiddish words, and bringing home more paintings than I could count or find room for. You often made us cry - sometimes tears of frustration, but more often tears of laughter. You learned the meaning of the expression "happy tears" as DH and I discovered just how hard this whole parenting business is. We wished for the millionth time that you had come with instructions, and then were glad you didn't as it meant we could discover the world along with you.

When I was Five, I was just alive.

When you were five, you EXPLODED into life. You learned how to ride bikes, climb trees, play footy, dance ballet, contort through gymnastics, swim in the ocean, run 'like in the Olympics", get haircuts of your choice, draw pictures which look like the real thing they are, ride scooters, set the dinner table, count money, "read" books, start school (uniforms and all), make your beds, begin to cook with Mum, manipulate your siblings to get your way, fight off a tickle attack from one or more parents, go to Temple more regularly and sing along, put on costume performances regularly, sing along to the radio, be purposely irritating, tell a myriad of knock-knock jokes, dress yourselves from head to toe and a whole cornucopia of other life skills. Best of all you become part of a family which supports each other, plays together, eats together, shares all of life together, drives one another batty and yet can fall into a giggling, massive heap but a few seconds later. You even discovered that your parents were human, too - and you forgave them for it.

But now I am Six, I am as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

Amen to that.