Just Pretending

Youngest and I had a nice quiet day today. She likes to walk her sister to the bus each morning. I think it’s her way of feeling she has some control over being separated from her sister. She puts her on the bus and waves goodbye then walks the few hundred feet back home, alone, pretending to be a big kid. I love watching her from the front window.

Sometimes she walks quickly and at attention. Her head up and eyes alert, scanning the bushes and trees, stopping to check out whatever has caught her attention. Other times she meanders in a serpentine path with her head tilted to the side lost in her own thoughts. Today she had an umbrella resting on her shoulder. It was tilted at an angle that made its rain blocking abilities questionable. But it wasn’t really raining, more of a light mist, so it didn’t matter. She was walking slowly and eyeing the puddles.

The first puddle was tempting but she managed to miss it. The second puddle she skimmed across the top with the tip of her shoes then hurried on. She walked through the next puddle but I could see her sites were set on the mother of all puddles. The ankle deep splasher just to the right of our driveway. That’s been a favorite for years.

She picked her path carefully. She had to end up in front of the puddle so she could splash without making it look like she meant to splash. A quick side-trip to check out the neighbors’ flowers was all it took. The puddle was in her line of sight and she was going for it.

Then she stopped, took off her shoes and went for it.

When she got to the door she left her shoes and wiped her feet.

Then she told me about a bug she’d seen and we looked it up in the field guide. She found it all on her own.

Then she practiced her spelling words. Only missed one.

She fixed her own breakfast and watched Spongbob.

We did some writing (simple sentences) and math (two-digit addition). Then she read a new book.

She went out to play with the dogs and now I’m sitting here wondering if she was pretending to be a big kid or if she really is a big kid. Does it really matter? I pretend to be a grownup all the time. Right now I’m sitting here typing this up but my bare feet are working their way to the backyard. There is a puddle back there and it’s calling my name.

Tags: big kid, pretending, puddles, quiet day, youngest