Today, as ever, time marches on relentlessly, and another of my children reaches double digits…. my little Em is a big ten. She is obviously not quite so little anymore, but she retains a daintyness about her that means she will still, for now at least, be my little Em (although I ams sure I only have another couple of years before she’s taller than me)
She’s been quite excited this week in the lead-up to her birthday and is hoping she gets a ‘light up Kindle’ (she has) as well as some books. As ever, she hasn’t asked for much, instead pursuing her love of reading with her choices.
She’s had an interesting year…. a year that started with some minor health issues and a bit of a struggle to initially get them under control. But we are sorted now and things have settled. She seems to have found her confidence a little more and the debilitating shyness which, whilst not exactly gone, seems to have eased a little. A lot of this is, I think, down to the Cub Scout group she attends. They’ve helped her come out of her shell a little and I am sure that when she moves to the Scouts later in the summer, that will see her come out of herself a little more too. She’s keen to join them on their week-long camp over the August holidays and it will be strange not having her here, but it will do her the world of good, should she be able to go.
She’s also joined a running club. Despite never being anywhere near the fastest, she has a lovely running technique and she turns up week in, week out, in all types of weather and tries her best. Which is all we can ask of her, and she enjoys it. She’s generally pretty OK at any sporty type activity she joins in with and I hope as she gets older she keeps this generally active outlook.
The last six months or so have really seen her creativity blossom. I’m always finding little scraps of paper with doodles and notes on them, she leaves me pictures in my notebook and is always jotting down story ideas and the such. She’s been writing a story for the last month or two, and she wants to publish it. The snippets I’ve read are good and she has a wonderful imagination and fantastic use of English. I think this has been supported with her vociferous appetite for reading. She reads such a wide range of books, from classics to modern stories. She really loves the Awesomely Austen series of books and has also picked up a Bronte book (albeit an abridged children’s version from the library) so I foresee a trip to Haworth coming up to the Bronte Parsonage museum. She is never far from a pile of books, she eats whilst reading and has 3/4 books by her bedside each night that she’s reading from and a book is always in her hands in the car. This is the one thing I am most proud of with Em (and the boys) – reading is the key to so much in life and I hope she continues to find adventure and escape in her books in the years to come.
Emma’s creativity also runs to her flute playing. She plays so beautifully and the instrument suits her perfectly; soft and gentle but demanding of your attention. She can get frustrated when it takes her a little longer than anticipated to master a piece of music but she does persevere. She is hopefully going to do a grading this year, and I think that will bring some confidence to her in her musical abilities. As with many things in life, she is diligent and perseveres and I think this will stand her in good stead in years to come.
She is gentle and calm, nurturing and loving. She is a very tactile person, lots of ‘love you mama’ as she bounds in and out of rooms, accompanied by a quick hug. She laughs as she knows I don’t like the hugging quite as much as she does – I’m just not a cuddly or tactile person in the same way that Em and her dad are, but she perseveres anyway and each morning insists on a big morning cuddle, asking me quizzically throughout the day why I don’t love having her clinging to me at every moment. She loves Jet, and will play with her and feed her and generally delight in her mischievous ways. Finlay, our old boy, seeks her out and enjoys those quiet mornings when it’s just the two of them snuggled on the sofa under a blanket with a book (of course). He enjoys her calm I think and he enjoys cuddling in the same way that she does.
Today will see us enjoy breakfast at home with her grandparents before an afternoon out, the five of us. She has some ‘girl’ friends round in the evening for pizza and a film before a quieter Saturday to chill and, no doubt, make a start on the many, many books she will receive tomorrow.
Happiest of birthdays my little Em – have a wonderful year ahead my little girl x
an excllent write up again