The Road to Kindergarten

Kindergarten is only 5 weeks away. Both A-Cat and I have been counting down for nearly a year. The excitement of going to a "real school" bubbled in both of us. She was eager to be older and I was dreaming of being richer. This morning, I realized there is a twinge of sadness in my anticipation.

I went in to A-cat's room to kiss her sleepy head goodbye and I saw her differently than ever before. She was a kid. She wasn't my baby (that wore away a few years ago) and she wasn't my little toddler. She was a kid. It was almost like she wasn't mine; "She's too big to be my little girl," I thought.


A-Cat has always been little. My cousin said it was like watching a Chucky Doll walk and talk - she was just too little to be moving and talking like that. She will be 6 in November and at last check weighed 34 lbs and was 42 (or 44 can't remember) inches tall.


I have always joked that my daughter was "travel size". When we first moved back to Omaha, right after A-Cat's first birthday, she had an ear infection. DH took her to the new pediatrician. The doctor was concerned about her size - I'm sure A-Cat did look tiny next to my DH who is a big man. When I took her back for a check-up, the doctor wasn't so concerned anymore. "OH! I didn't realize she had a little mama," the doctor said. Yep, she has a little mama, and back then, I was real little (5'0" and 98 lbs).


At Kindergarten round-up, DH and I waited outside for A-Cat. As all the other children came filing out, DH leaned over and said, "Are they have first and second grade round-up too?" Nope - that's what a typical 5-year old looks like! We are just so use to A-Cat, that is normal to us, so we are thrown a bit off guard when someone remarks on her size. Dance class was the worst - the other moms would ask about her age and then be surprised to find out that my five-year old wasn't a three-year old. Then they would go on and on. I wanted to tell them that their freakishly large children are the weirdos!


So here we go - a new chapter in our life! My little fat baby is about to be a Kindergartner! Somewhere in me misses the long nights of feedings and changes and snuggles. A-Cat depended on me; she needed me. Over the years she has grown not only in size, but independence. I suppose that is what my job is - give her the love, discipline and tools to be an independent person. I think God gave her the independent spirit, he has just entrusted me to keep it alive.


Before I go, I feel a little obliged to give out some advice to A-Cat's new school:


• She will make you laugh when you want to scream and she will push you beyond your line - don't worry, she'll extend a hand to help you back with the hope you'll do the same for her.




• Discipline her with love and intent.




• Don't tell her how cute she is, trust me - she knows.




• Remind her that it's OK to be mad, but it's not OK to be bad.




• Speak to her like she is a child and you are an adult. She may fool you with her vocabulary and speaking ability, but she is only 5 and should be treated as such.




• Love her because she is A-Cat, the only A-Cat in the world.


Kindergarten: Here we come!