Never Growing Up....

Never Growing up:

Today started with seeing a Peter Pan Ballet with the Greeneteam, and it ended with a little girl standing by my bathtub crying that she would soon be six and would never again be able to take a bath with her mama because she was growing up.

We all know the classic tale of Peter Pan the boy who never grows up. Tonight I felt as though I had a little girl who wants to grow up in so many ways...Sleepovers, doing what the older kids do, learning to ride a bike without training wheels, getting her ears pierced etc. However, at the same time she still wants to be my little girl.

Maddie is my baby. I remember being pregnant with her as though it was yesterday. My favorite part of the day back then was the very end of the night. I would go in and start running the bath water and instantly Maddie would start kicking. Not sure if it was the sound of the water that got her excited or if it was that she knew she was about to get a big giant bowl of sherbet ice cream. Whatever it was she was happy. I remember looking forward to those kicks every night. As she has gotten older, she has been the child who still loves taking baths with me. Maddie is just that way..snuggly, lovable, and sweet.

I told her about a year ago that she was getting too big to take baths with me and by 6 we probably wouldn't do it anymore. So tonight standing by the bath she broke down.. I said "what is wrong"? She said "I am going to be 6 in less than a month mama. That means I will never be able to take a bath with you again".. So darn sweet I tell you. I couldn't crush her and make her more sad so I said " Maddie you can take baths with me until you are 10 if you want" (knowing full well that she will never want to). She left the bathroom still crying.. I heard her in the hall tell her big sister "do you know why I am crying? I am crying because I have only 2 or 3 more years to take a bath with mama". Sweet, Sweet, Sweet. My very own little Peter Pan not wanting to grow up....... at least not for a little while longer.