Norah News: The Duplicity of a Preschooler

This past weekend we went camping with a couple of other families. We don’t know either one very well (in fact, one not at all) but between us, there were 3 little girls Norah’s age, and one who was approaching the wise old age of 6, plus Roddie and yet another little girl who was only a little older than him. We had 3 adjacent tent sites that bordered on a small open area, so it didn’t take long before the little girls were actively exploring their world and getting to know each other.

The girls were moving freely between all the sites and it wasn’t long before there wasn’t much differentiation between us parents – at least as far as snacks, potty, safety and fun go. It was really the first time we’ve let Norah have the freedom to hang with her peers without a pretty close eye on her. This was in part due to the circumstances, and in part due to her just getting a little older. It was hard at first, not to be aware of exactly where she was at every second, but as we grew more comfortable with the set up, I was able to sit back and be proud of my girl! Until the inevitable over-tired-overload coupled with the “sad-to-leave” syndrome, she literally had a blast!

I also learned that pre-schoolers can be a lot like teenagers - Apparently the whole girls going to the bathroom thing starts at an early age, as three preschoolers accompanied me to the bathroom. They also insisted on getting together with their jammies on to brush their teeth – and compare and share toothpaste (Dora was a hit, Sponge Bob a close second)

So while I was at first nervous and then happy for her with the camping arrangements, the duplicity was really apparent to me at the beach. Norah has long been comfortable in the water, but this time, she walked right out, up to her chin – ON HER OWN, with me watching from the shore with Roddie. The first time, I wasn’t sure how far she’d go and was shocked she went so far. I was petrified, but also so very proud of her! Of course we followed up with a conversation around the ground rules at the beach, but I’ve never felt such competing emotions before – so scared and so proud at the same time. I’m guessing there will be a lot more conflicts like these for me before the kids are grown!