Life Cycles Big and Small

Life cycles are events that mark major moments in our lives.  My daughter's next big “event” will be her bat mitzvah in eight years and I am putting in black and white now that she will not have the "wedding" (aka- over the top, need a second mortgage) equivalent of a bat mitzvah party.  It is a big deal for sure, but being thirteen does not entitle her to an event fit for a queen.  In the meantime, I wonder about the smaller events that mark the transitions as she gets older and it occurs to me that in the span of the next few months we are going to hit some MAJOR small events that, at least in this moment, seem HUGE. 

Now, you may wonder, what small events could rank up there with the coming of age.  In our case, there are three:  a loose tooth, the transition to a big girl bike (think two wheels instead of four) and then, becoming a kindergartner!  It is true, I think that these may be more important to us as adults than they are too her (especially the bike—she is not all that excited about moving to a bike without training wheels)….but for me, suddenly my little girl seems SO much bigger.  As I try to prepare for these events I have to admit that for a few brief moments I merged these two events. I am embarrassed to admit it, but as I hit the trail this morning for a run, I had the idea that maybe the big girl bike could be from the tooth fairy.  Yes, I came to my senses pretty quickly, (I blame my runners high)….and realized that this might just set a bad precedent.

  We have been pondering what the going rate is for a tooth lately.  Principessa believes that the tooth fairy brings gold coins.  I on the other hand, even with the higher cost of living in the DC area, was thinking of something that was not made of a precious metal.  A dollar maybe?  At this age, she is likely to think that four quarters are quite valuable just because they are four of them.  The whole gold thing though, I am pretty sure that the federal government would not appreciate me painting the quarters gold.  The fact of the matter is that the tooth has been loose for almost a week, and though it is definitely looser than it was, there is still time before it will come out. (I did try the other night to help it along. I offered to help Principessa brush her teeth, and spent some extra time on that particular tooth trying to wiggle it loose.  No luck, plus it did inflict some pain.  I know, I am a bad mom). 

Then there is the bike.  Principessa was slow to really start enjoying taking a bike ride. But now, going for a ride around the block is one of her favorite things to do when we get home from school.  The little 14-inch bike that her grandparents got her seems miniature for her little legs and so, with the seat moved as high as it possibly can go, it is time to move to a 16-inch bike.  My feeling is that with the new bike, comes the removal of training wheels.  I still remember my grandfather teaching me to ride without training wheels, I was what you might call, a scaredy-cat.  So my pushing of the no training wheel rule is quite possibly a bit hypocritical for me, but since I have the title of “mom” I think it is my prerogative every once in a while.  Anyway, I have been banking on the fact that a pink bike with a basket and cool horn will sway her into taking that big step.  Yes, I am fully prepared to admit that I am wrong, and that training wheels might help her at least for a bit- but somehow just like she decided that she would stop sucking her thumb when she turned five, I think that the move to a new bike is the right time to get rid of the extra wheels. 

The third is the fact that she will be a kindergartner in the fall- or really in a few weeks when she starts summer camp. This is a tricky thing in our house, because Principessa attends a Montessori program and has a November birthday, and so has spent this year as a "kindergartner in training" (think: "I am cooler than a four year old, but not quite as cool as a REAL kindergartner").  The transition will be a tad anti climactic for her, because the reality is that her day to day school life will not change all that much.  But somehow, having a kindergartner…wow, am I really that old? 

Life cycles are moments that get recorded usually with excessive amounts of pictures and presents.  But these little “big” events….are just as nerve wracking exciting. 

This is an original DC Metro Moms post. 

When not trying to pull out her daughter’s tooth, Elena blogs about the beauty and chaos of life at A Day in the Life. She also showcases resources ans activities for local parents at Fairfax Macaroni Kid.  Trying to be brief, Elena tweets as caramamma.