Taking gargantuan strides

I have no idea what has happened to Rosie in the last 6 weeks but I like it. She has developed a confidence about her and a sense of adventure that was not there before. I have no explanation and I keep looking at her quizzically and asking the real Rosie to please step forward. When I say this she looks at me utterly perplexed.

I first noticed it when the girls and I went to Tampa and she decided to ride all the big rides with no prompting from any one. Even after she rode one that scared her silly she still carried on to the next one without batting an eye. Then when we were in North Carolina she zip-lined and was attached to a stranger and whisked away by him and had no problem with it at all. 

These were not small little things for her, they were huge and very long overdue but that's beside the point. I made a point to say something to her about it but I didn't want to go overboard in case she wasn't aware of this new found bravery and immediately resorted back to her Chicken Little behaviour.

As the new school year loomed like a dark cloud I could feel her getting antsy. We talked it through and did all we could to ease her nerves. Monday morning was painless. There were tears in her eyes but nothing compared to years gone by and she even said she wanted to go back. Say what? Who is this kid and what has she done with the real Rosie? 

She was very concerned about the fact that in Kindergarten you get dropped off and are no longer walked to your class room. For the past 2 years classroom drop off has been mandatory and as for as I am concerned it has made her life 1,000 times worse. She of course loved it because she got to keep me with her for a few extra minutes every single day. This is bad for a kid who hates to separate. I need to get out of there and the faster the better. Monday and Tuesday were walk in days but yesterday was D- Day, drop off day. 

I asked Lily if there was anyway that she could walk Rosie to her area and still get all the way to her area and be on time, she said of course she could and of course she would. I told her didn't have to as nobody walked her in when she was 5. She said that if the kids have younger siblings they are expected to do it. I straightened her out and said no, you are expected to walk out with them not in. You do not have to do this especially if it will make you rush. She told me she wanted to. (be still my heart)

I told Rose that I would be driving them through the drop off lane and that Lily would help her find her way to her area and that would be that. She seemed OK with it and even went to sleep with no worries.

Yesterday morning all was going well until we reached the car lane and it was at a stand still. People were parking and getting out and totally screwing it all up. We had plenty of time but I really didn't want Lily to feel rushed so I pulled the car over to the side and told them to get out right there. They were laughing and giggling and Lily even managed to drop her lunch which made things even funnier. Rosie didn't even realise that she hadn't kissed me until I asked for one. Without as much as a glance over her shoulder she took off holding her sisters hand and skipped merrily into school. 

I'm so happy for her. So glad that she is finally realising that she can do this stuff without having a heart attack. I couldn't wait to pick them up  to see what happened after I was gone. 

I really wasn't expecting to hear what I did: it turns out that Rosie was one of only a handful of kids that didn't cry . Lily said alot of them were crying at the gate and even more were crying on the covered patio. Oh wait, that's not all of it. In the cafeteria our neighbours little girl, Rosie's friend, was crying and Rosie took it upon herself to find out what was wrong. 

Oh please lets not have any setbacks I'm loving this freedom for her. I'm loving the fact that she is gaining some confidence, she really deserves it and god only knows it is really really long overdue. Why take baby steps when you can take gargantuan strides? 

Off they go together. Mummy who?