A Letter to my 6 year old.

Dear Jaia,

Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, you’ll be 6 years old.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  You won’t officially turn 6 until 11:51 pm, when you decided you could wait no longer to meet and greet your anxious parents.  That’s so you, though.  Making a grand entrance but letting others take centre stage…

Your arrival that night was not an easy one.  I’m not very good at remembering most things, but I still remember every single second of those 30 loooong hours.  But, Kid, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  It was our story and one I’m proud of.  There was a happy ending after all.  Or, make that a beautiful beginning…

Tomorrow morning we will wake you up with a birthday song and a cupcake to eat.  A Fullerton tradition and one that you are suddenly old enough to remember.  I thought I was being sneaky as I snuck the cupcake into the fridge this afternoon when you asked if that was your ‘birthday morning cupcake’.  I pretended it wasn’t.  You did not buy it for a second.

As if you would.  I’m a bad liar and you are way too clever.  You are already killing grade 1, reading chapter books and loving learning French and math.  Even with a switch to a new school and a whole new batch of friends in tow, you are thriving.

Not every day is easy, though.  In fact, some days are hard.  You and your brother often make me feel like I should add referee to my resume and you find ways to test boundaries and my limits but at the end of the day, I figure i must be doing something right.  You, Jaia, are such a great kid.  You are polite and sweet and soft.  You treasure your family and you are loyal to your friends.  I love that you are fearless.  I love your laugh.  I love the look on your face when you score a goal in soccer, but more that when you retell it to your dad, that you mention how well the team did and have to be reminded to tell him about the goal, like it was secondary.

Jaia, I’m still amazed that you are already 6.  Part of me wishes I could freeze you as the fiery 5 year old that you are at this very second, but the other part of me cannot wait to see how this year and each year after will play out.  No matter the number of candles on your cake, I will always adore you and the amazing person you are.

Happy birthday, my Bean.