This year, instead of presents, A suggested people could bring donations for the local food bank. She is so so excited to have so much amazing stuff to drop off this week! She has such generous and sweet friends!
Dearest sweet girl,
Wow, ten flew by so fast. Somehow, we have made it to the end of your elementary school years. While this year has had a lot of ups and downs, I am so thankful that you remain the same wonderful human we have loved for over a decade. You are kind and thoughtful, still can be silly, and are always looking for ways to make people laugh. Your hugs and cuddles are my favorite thing and I know how lucky I am that you still give both so freely.
It has not all been easy, of course. You can be grumbly, especially in the mornings. You also lose interest in things, can be quick to anger, and are sometimes difficult to drag out of the house.
This year, we decided to get an assessment to try to better understand some attention and concentration difficulties, big emotions, anxiety, and low boredom tolerance. While you’ve continued to do really well academically, it was incredibly helpful as we try to find ways to best support you as you transition to middle school.
This was a busy year with you playing softball for the last few seasons. You complain about games and competition and get so nervous but you absolutely love practice and have improved a lot in the last year. You even tried pitching in a game for the first time last week—which was so brave! We are still working on the negative things you tell yourself when you make mistakes or don’t do things perfectly. You also had a lot of fun with volleyball club, theater & drama club, running club, and gardening club. However, decompression time is also super important to you. You love to read and finally have gotten into the Wings of Fire series. You also really love writing and have several stories you regularly work on. My favorite is Shadow. You write faster than the graduate students in my lab, which is one reason we both love it when you can attend our writing meetings.
Many of your friends are sprouting up and hitting growth spurts but you’re in no rush to join them. You’re still in size 1 shoes and are the smallest girl on your softball team, despite being the oldest. You have really come to terms with your height, though, and no longer get upset when people guess you are 2-3 years younger than your age. In fact, you rather seem to like it when people underestimate you and you prove them wrong.
Although I don’t feel ready, you will be starting middle school this fall. You had so much fun on the tour and mostly seem to be excited to put fifth grade behind you. You are hoping to join band and get put in the electives of creative living, creative writing, art, and Spanish.
More and more, I’m just trying to stop and soak in these moments. I love who you are and who you are becoming. I know the next steps may be rocky but I’m doing what I can so we are prepared. We just want you to continue having what you need and feeling like you matter. You’re the best.
