One day you are knee deep in diapers, bottles, and onsies permeated with the scent of Dreft, and the world is wonderful and hard all at the same time. You are in love and terrified of this new bundle and trying to survive and do your best, fueled by coffee and good intentions.
Then your days are filled with a crazy little person that is hard to keep up with, can’t get enough of the Disney channel, and who’s favorite past-time is accompanying you to the bathroom. These days seem long and trying and then one day…one day, something changes.
Suddenly instead of having to split your morning routine into sections to make sure you help her get ready, she has already picked out a cute color coordinated “outfit” because she doesn’t just wear clothes anymore. You don’t have to struggle over her hair because she wants it to be brushed herself. This is a new time unlike any other you’ve transitioned to before, and it’s more than when she learned to walk
, talk, or use the potty. Suddenly you have this built in best friend who wants to go shopping because she has a new found sense of style. She wants to have conversations about things because she has new opinions she has articulated. She wants more alone time and is becoming more independent.
You begin to realize that the little person you have been raising is still the same sweet girl you first laid eyes on but is blossoming into her own. She is still the same sweet girl who loves unicorns and bunnies and who’s favorite color is pink, but she is also now the girl who is empathetic, thoughtful, and can change out and put up her own laundry (*not unprompted but hey, it’s a start)!
It’s not that I don’t miss baby coos or toddler giggles, but this time has magic of it’s own. These days, I have a partner to escape to Target with who doesn’t ask to leave five minutes into the shopping trip. I don’t have to prod about her day because she is spilling about her fourth grade tea happily. She can be sassy, and she knows most everything but she isn’t too cool for me yet, and she still values my opinion. This is a time I’m cherishing and soaking up, this is ten.
