Dear Eva
Today, at 3.46pm exactly, you turned 6 years old. 6 whole years since you came into this world, this world that would not be the same without you in it. In fact you pretty much make ours. People say that a baby turns your world upside down but I can tell you that you definitely turned mine the right way up and from that very moment we have been a team.
As a mother I am used to things changing. In that very first moment that I set eyes on my baby girl and held her close to my chest everything changed and since then, it’s pretty constant. No sooner have they (and you) settled into one phase than its time for the next. When I think I have got something nailed they decide otherwise, to change the rules and that that is not the way to handle it anymore. From cluster feeding as a baby, the way I would wind them over my shoulder, the way they like to sleep and when, all the way up to how they like to style their hair or what their favourite book is.
To Eva
Today you started your new adventure in year 1. Year 1! Even as I write that it doesn’t seem like it can be real. It really feels like 5 minutes since your very first day and even less since I wrote about your last day in reception. A huge part of me can’t even quite believe that you are old enough to be a fully fledged school child. That you are no longer the baby in the school and this is no longer new. As we walked up that familiar hill on the approach to school this morning I felt the difference. You didn’t hesitate, there was no firm grip of my hand or burrowing into me as someone spoke. You talked confidently about your summer, took ownership of the mountain of bags you seem to need on that first day and felt comfortable that you just knew what to do. After of course giving me a kiss you didn’t even glance back as you walked in through that gate, on your own, confident with your head held high.