Dear Darcie,
This week you start pre school and I wanted to write this letter to you before you do.
I want you to know how much I have adored this past three years at home with you. Yes. we’ve had our fair share of bad days but overall this has been such a happy time. The first two years it was just you and I against the world, and then this last year Ernie joined our little team too. You have made me so proud with how well you adapted to becoming a big sister, and I know I will feel that same pride again as you adapt to starting pre school this year, and then school the next.
Over the last three years you have gone from strength to strength, from a pretty grizzly baby who would cry at anyone who looked at you to a hilarious, loving, kind three year old who is gaining confidence every day.
I have so many hopes for you over the next year and just one for myself; I hope that I have done enough to prepare you for this next chapter. Only time will tell, but for now here are my hopes for you, my beautiful girl:
Firstly I hope that you will enjoy your time at pre school. I know it will be amazing for you to be surrounded by other children your own age and I’m expecting you to have so much fun. I’m aware that sometimes you want to do things at home and we can’t because of your baby brother, so I know you will flourish being around older children and being able to do your own thing a bit more.
I hope that you will always want to tell me about your days at pre school. One of the things I’m finding the hardest thinking about this new chapter is just that I won’t be there to see it all. I’ve been there for every adventure so far, I’ve kissed every bumped head and splashed in every stream with you. These new adventures will be just yours and I can’t wait to hear all about them every day. I love how excited you always are to tell Daddy the things we’ve been up to together during the day so it will be lovely for me to be on the other side of that for once and to get to hear your excited, jumbled up accounts of the day.
I hope that you will remember everything I’ve ever taught you about being kind, helping others and making other people feel happy and included. If you see children being mean to each other or if someone is mean to you, I hope that you will teach them to be kind rather than let them teach you to be cruel. You have the sweetest heart and you love to take care of people, I hope you never lose this.
I hope that you will learn a lot. You love to learn new things at the moment and are always asking ‘why’. I hope your curiosity for the world around you only keeps growing and that you can come home and teach your old mum some new things too.
I hope that you make good friends. You love making new friends and you’re so excited to show everyone at pre school your new flashing wellies, that’s a good conversation started I’m sure! I hope that you can brush it off if someone doesn’t want to be friends with you and that you will try your best to always be a friend to anyone who needs it.
I hope that pre school changes you, but in a good way. To be honest I don’t want you to change at all, but I know that you will. You will change and you will grow. You’ll become more independent from me (even writing that makes me teary) and you will flourish in ways I can’t even imagine. I just hope that all the changes are positive ones, that you meet nice people who influence you in nice ways and that through it all you will always stay kind and loving.
I hope you always know that I am right there with you even if I’m not physically there. I am always backing you and supporting you. When I leave, I am always coming back, and I am always so excited to see you and hear about your day.
I have so many hopes for you my darling girl, and none of them are to do with which direction you choose in life, what interests you might have or what you might be good at. I just hope for you to always be kind to everyone, including yourself, I hope you will stay true to yourself and love yourself, I hope that you will stand up for yourself if you need to and that you will always know that I love you and accept you no matter what.
Here’s to the next bit, baby girl.