5 years old

My little (or not so little) baby is 5 years old today. I don't even really believe it. I can't even pretend she's not a child yet. She hasn't been even a "preschooler" for quite some time, but somehow, saying she's 4 is much easier than saying she's 5. Honestly, it's hard for me to even remember her as a baby, except when I look at pictures. But I think that's okay. I don't want to ever hold any of my children back because they've grown up and I can't handle it.

One of the very important things I'm learning with her is how to love and parent her for who God made her to be, instead of who I would make her to be. When she was born, I had this mistaken notion that I had more influence over who she would turn out to be than I really do. God gave her her personality, and while that may be difficult for me at times, it's so much better that way for her and for me.

It's funny how 5 years is so very long and yet so very short all at the same time.