Travelingjenny

Yesterday when I picked Grace up from school, she very proudly showed me a twig she had collected from a white pine. She explained to me that we were going to make tea with the "sprigs," and when we got home, she showed me how. She poured the water and separated the needles and got the honey. She poured a mug for Adam and set it aside for when he got home. The tea was… interesting. But what struck me about all of this was how very grown up Grace seemed. She was interested and helpful, and insightful and funny. She was lovely.

Later we met friends for dinner, and Grace was polite and friendly, and very conversational. My friend turned to me and said, "When did Grace turn 12?"

When we got home from dinner and saw Adam, Grace gave him his tea and talked about her "girlfriends" at school. Afterwards, he turned to me and said, "When did she become a teenager?"

Obviously she's not a teenager yet, and we certainly don't wish her to become one anytime soon. But she is almost 6. And I think I'm going to like 6 quite a bit.