Crazy.
Last week Clare started public kindergarten. It's a huge deal. She's had to enter into a new school completely on her own with little notice about who her teacher is. She is thrilled to be one of Mrs. Harvey's hula bears, a position I requested based on her many years of skilled teaching and the most loving and firm boundaries I have ever witnessed. Her classroom is kind and positive and hums with order...just like Clare. She is in the right place, there is no doubt about that.
Two weeks ago she started a real ballet class. No more baby dance for her. She has a gorgeous polish instructor who is well over six feet tall. She is delightful. I'm so glad that Clare has her grace and beauty to soak up. That's a really great thing for a future (giant) superstar to be a part of. ;)
Last month, she started getting an allowance. There was a day when daddy was traveling that she made breakfast, lunch and dinner for the family. She also folded two loads of laundry and learned to mop the floor. At the end of the day she kindly advocated for herself and let me know she thought it was time she got her own money, as she was working hard to earn it. So after making a plan with daddy about what to save and where, she is off and running with $5 a week. She deserves every penny. Now when we leave the house to go somewhere, she brings her purse with her wallet in case she sees something she wants to buy. Today she made her first purchase. Her own diary.
She paid, waited for her change, and carefully stowed her receipt. She is so pleased with her purchase. We're still working on the lock; that's been frustrating. And we had to have a long talk about the difference between privacy and secrets (because our family doesn't keep secrets). But after all that, she is diligently filling it in page by page.
Writing so much about herself and her life sparked a pain in her that she's been struggling with for a while. She misses her other. Mac left for St. Louis on Friday and it's slowly been dawning that she's moving for real. Yesterday it smacked her like a wall and she cried with the heartbreak of it for hours. Her first grief. I felt so honored to sit in that space with her and help her hold her tender heart with care, making a space for her to learn this incredibly important process.
I cannot believe how far we've come this summer. September, I'm glad you're here.
