Blossoming

Being a fifth grade girl isn't easy. I know this not only because I was once a fifth grade girl myself, but because I'm currently witnessing the challenges, the ups and downs our fifth grade girl is navigating day by day. I just want to take a moment to give her a little shout out to tell her what a fantastic job she's doing and how much fun it is to watch her grow up a little more each day.

Something that I'm really delighting in is the fact that Bitty has developed a passion for the stage. I think I probably mentioned this before, since she was in last year's school play, but she just absolutely loves acting and being on stage. I'm so happy for her. I hope she continues loving it. Sometimes Bitty's passions have a serious ebb and flow - for so long sewing was really filling her bucket and that has completely petered out, darn it. Well, "petered" isn't quite the word.  More like an instant halt.  Luckily she still is sticking with the cello and she's finding a great deal of joy in drama. Her class recently put on a play all about the Salem witch trials - yes, it was quite frightening! Especially because the play was done more as a silent dance than an actual play. It was super spooky and Skippidy fell apart while watching the school performance, along with several other kindergarteners and 1st graders. I think the teacher got a little bit of back-lash about it but I thought it was an excellent piece of drama. Bitty played the part of one of the young girls who fell ill and I'll just say that she can really flail in a seizure-like way when she wants to. Again...creepy. And Bitty was over the moon about the experience.

She's also getting the chance right now to take part in the official school play - not just her class's annual performance. They are putting on a Charlie Brown play, and she's taken the roll of one of the Lucys. (There are enough kids who want to take part that they have to divide up the rolls between kids.) She practices after school twice a week and those are her best days. She just glows. I'm so grateful and happy that there is something that makes her light up like this. I hope it continues. I know drama was the love of my high school life, and though that may have occasionally brought on the scorn of other students, who cares. I was happy and I had a home base in high school and nothing could have been better for me than that.

Another hobby she's developing is writing poetry.  I was not at all expecting this or did I have any idea that she was interested and then one day she showed up with a few poems she wrote at school and I was very impressed. She even had the chance to share some of her poetry at school where we have a really cool evening called Poetry and Prose night.  Kids (and adults too if they want to) can get up and read poems or stories that they love or that they have written.  Bitty proudly got up to share three of her poems.  I wasn't able to be there but Troy recorded them and she did a great job. May the poetry continue!

I have to tell one funny story - right before Christmas break I loaned Bitty my very favorite hand-knitted mittens and she promised to take very good care of them. She did a good job and brought them home safely so I let her wear them a few more times. Then over Christmas break I wanted to wear them myself and couldn't find them. I kind of got after her, asking her where she had left them, and when school started up again and we couldn't even find them in the lost and found I was pretty disappointed. I promise I really did say this - I told her that I loved her a lot more than I love those mittens and it was going to be okay, but I also told her I might not let her borrow hand-knitted clothing as much, which really bummed her out. Well guess what. The next day I went to my own place of work where I hadn't been since before Christmas break and....there were my mittens! DoH! (Really wanting to insert that red-faced emoji here.) I was so ashamed for getting after Bitty about the mittens! Bad mommy! Bad! The only way I could make it up to her was to make her a pair of her very own. I let her pick out yarn and spent the rest of the winter knitting these rather intricate mittens. It's dumb that it took me until April to finish them but at least I did. And if she loses them I'll kill her. Kidding! Only kidding. I would deserve the punishment of making her more.