I am four, almost five. My shoes sparkle and my party dress flatters even when I run. My hair flies free and falls in my face which I sweep away with the back of my hand. My smile reveals my slightly crooked bottom tooth which is correcting with age but I prefer silly faces.

Easter is about spring dresses, bonnets, collared shirts, baskets, colored eggs and the resurrection of Jesus Christ our savior. Easter, like every other holiday and non-holiday (can you believe Halloween isn’t a holiday?) is a reason to have a party.

With the lure of over two hundred eggs hidden the kids suffer our demands for photos and squeeze out the most genuine of smiles.

“Simple creative activities are some of the building blocks of child development”
– PBS

Before children can read or write they create art. They’ll paint, glue, cut, color and sticker many times over before they write their first letter. As adults we create art to convey what we desire while for children their art communicates exactly who they are, no pretense, no manipulation.

Lucas’ attempt to remove an unwanted sticker created a crack in his egg which prompted him to write “I got body pearst”. Creatively done he started nibbling at the crack. Appalled, I told him to stop eating his egg guy.

Girls develop faster than boys. Remember whispering to your best friend about your crush while watching him practice loogies with his friends? Or towering over him in fifth grade?

Penny is developing faster than Lucas. At the age of 5 Lucas dressed himself, brushed his own teeth and was relieved of emotional outbursts and tantrums. Nearing the age of 5 Penny has been dressing herself since she was 3, brushing her own teeth for over a year and is overwhelmed by emotions leading to outbursts and tantrums.

She asks a million questions. She needs to understand the who, the what, the where, the when and the how. She is self-aware and self-conscious, already. She will dance and shout and let it all out, at home. She is shy. She will not insert herself into a group or situation, she will wait. And this is where I come in; I observe and I freak out. My daughter who should be “free-spirited” at this age is becoming shy and therefore must be lacking in self-confidence.

Described by her teacher as “quietly confident” I decide to let go of my preconceptions and see my child. She doesn’t insert herself into a group because she doesn’t care to. If it appears to me that she is left out it is because she chooses not to be included.

My daughter impresses me. On the verge of becoming 5 she is handling the constant onslaught of emotions and impulses as best as she can. She is sorting, categorizing and prioritizing; some she can dismiss, some require tears, some require a tantrum and some require Mommy to see her, hear her and comfort her. Some just need attention.

Bump…bump…bump. Faster and faster becoming a blur of pink, kind of. With helmet, gloves and Hello Kitty rain boots she’s invincible. After a few falls testing the edges nothing scares her now. Nothing in the security of our sidewalks and nearby cul-de-sac.

Each day spent scootering further validates the arrival of Spring.

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
– Margaret Atwood

Just last night I was wondering why I never learned to sew, remembering as a child that every Mom knew how to sew while now I can count on one hand the number of people I know that know how to sew.

Maybe this is why…