It’s official: daddy’s little girl is really a little girl, right now. And moving headlong towards becoming a big girl. Earlier this week, we took Vivian to her first day at junior kindergarten. We’re currently attending a special program offered by the Early Childhood Education Centre out of the University of Waterloo’s Department of Psychology, and expect to enroll Vivian in senior kindergarten next September — just in time for the new full-day program the McGuinty government has set up.
But all of that’s just the details. I am struck by several things. First of all, these are among the first days that Vivian will remember to her adulthood. I hope they’re happy memories, but I’m fairly confident they will be. She’s thriving at home and at school, making friends (seen above). Putting together complicated dramas that she acts out. I can’t help but wonder what she’ll become.
The second thing that strikes me is this is this: Vivian is in kindergarten! How did that happen? Where did the time go? I was struck by how much Vivian had changed by happening on photographs taken two years ago, back when Vivian was just a little bit older than Nora is today (see right).
I think about how much has passed in this time, how we came through toilet training, learning language, making friends… All of those first moments are gone for Vivian and I. And I barely had time to see them.
Though I will see them again, through Nora. She’s now walking, and starting to talk. She nods and shakes her head when asked a question, though she hasn’t settled on which movement is yes and which one is no. Next Monday, I expect to start taking Nora to Early Years regularly, where she’ll grow and develop alongside other kids her age, making friends of her own, playing different games — likely quieter ones than her sister enjoyed.
It’s amazing comparing these two girls, seeing how similar yet different they are.
