Rose followed me down to the basement to switch the laundry. On the way, we passed Wren, stretched into a perfect split flat against the wall-Zooming into her contemporary dance class. As I passed handfuls of damp clothes from the washer to the drier, Rose wandered around the storage area of the basement. “Why did you get me a Mickey Mouse potty?” she asked and then answered before I even got a chance to open my mouth. “Because I was afraid to go on the big potty? And now, I’m all growed up.”
I stopped, my arms still deep in the washer. I peeked over at Rose, standing above the Mickey potty, now stored away.
Earlier that night, I was also stopped in my tracks as I watched her work to put her pajamas on. She shook at the bird print pants three times in preparation for getting them on her body. She them swiftly jammed her right leg into the left leg of the bottoms. I watched to see how she would problem solve. As she attempted to jam her left leg into the pants, she realized she was going to have to adjust. She hobbled over to a table to hold onto for stability as she worked to turn the pants around, so she could get her other leg in, her now backward pants. With both legs in, she pulled the pants up. She peeled her inside out tee-shirt off and bent right down to get the mismatched nightgown she had chosen to wear on top.
I waited to see how this would go. Rose then walked over to me, handed me the nightgown and said, “Can you help me please?” Then she wrapped her arms around my legs, insurance for the help she sought. I pulled the nightgown over her body and watched as she ran off, ready for her next adventure.
Later, as I tried to squeeze in some yoga in the living room, I heard Rose at the sink in the kitchen. Again, I peeked in to see what she was up to. She had pulled the step stool over to the sink and was busy refilling her own water bottle.
When I first started my blog, I was pregnant with Rose. Tonight, I went back and read the post I wrote right after she was born. It all happened in a blink of an eye.
These small moments watching my baby tonight, have me wondering if Rose is right. She is “all growed up.”
Where There Is Joy 
Beautiful piece. It passes in the blink of an eye. I wrote of this just yesterday. This time is so fleeting. What a gift for Rose and your family that you’ve captured this slice!!
Xx,
Nawal
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Not yet, Rose, not yet. You are growing up, surrounded by the best models of how to be “growed up”, surrounded by those who love you so much, they give you space to feel “growed up”. You keep practicing and feeling “growed up” because your mom loves watching you!
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Perhaps not all grown up our sweet Rose, just the right amount of grown.
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I feel this piece. The growing up during the pandemic sneaks up on me sometimes because I’ve been with them so much. I started Slice of Life three days after my daughter’s first birthday…and she just turned 7. It’s so bittersweet, isn’t it?
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I haven’t been here since she was born, but as I started reading I thought, “my goodness! She really is getting big!” Your girls have grown up before our eyes, filtered through your loving gaze. What a privilege to get to watch them with you.
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So sweet, we are seeing the same with our granddaughter. She is three and a half now. Whe I look at the photos of our grandchildren when they were babies, time has flown .
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It’s so fun that she is focusing on what she can do, rather than being frustrated by what she can’t yet do – especially with an older sister. Just as you went back to read your post from prior to her being born, there will be a time you will come back to this post.
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Nope, not all growed up. She still needs that stool and she still wraps her arms around your legs. I love the irony of her language in this post. Someday, I’ll tell you about when Larkin teached Julia how to correct her speaking.
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Not all growed up yet, but I do so admire the way you are letting her develop such independence.
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Wonderfully captured the moment here. The first reaches for independence…but the hugs and needs of affirmation. You will be glad you wrote this down!
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Yikes! Maybe it’s just a verb tense she hasn’t quite mastered yet: That was before I had become this grown up. I loved the image of you watching her navigate the problem solving of the pajama pants. So great that you didn’t step in, so you could see the approximation, the independence, the table (not you) for stability. These pieces will only gain value over the years.
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What a Beautiful slice about a beautiful girl growing up. I cannot believe how old she is AND how much I’ve missed of her during this pandemic.
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Simply beautiful … I have enjoyed watching her grow up through slices. Big changes – but not all growed up for sure. It does go fast, but it keep going. I love how the piece moved between having space between you and then you coming together. That see saw structure worked perfectly for the topic. Thank you.
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It is hardest when the baby growed up. I have the hardest time watching Nolan change and grow. Love the pajama trying part- save that for a mentor text of how to stretch out!
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I think it is precious that you have written memories of specific stages for your children. Watching your daughter struggle to put her PJs on is such an everyday occurrence, but now you have a written memory to cherish the language and actions in entailed. How I wish I would have done that with my children!
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It is so good that you have recorded so many moments in blogs and slicing. I have to dredge my memories for random fun details (that I shared at two of our daughters’ weddings last December)…wait till they get that old!! Your description puts us right there in that basement and in the kitchen with you. They grow up but you can capture the memories!
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Goodness- in a flash they grow up so quickly! What a soft sweet moment you captured. It’s beautiful watching your child grow up and take small steps towards independence!
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