Today, for the first time, I dropped Anna Cate at a friend's house and...left. It was a big step for both of us. You see, she has been invited to come play at other friends' homes before, but she always said she was "just not ready" She preferred to host, but today she said she was ready and excited.
It's interesting, because I remember the first times I ventured into a friends' homes on my own. It was like entering a whole new world. I remember the interest at seeing how different families did different things. Their houses were organized differently than mine, they ate different food, they had different "things". Almost always, the homes were louder than mine. Generally, they had more people hanging around and some sibling causing trouble. In Anna Cate's case, her friend has five older brothers, three of which still live at home - talk about a different environment!
I left as she and her friend scurried upstairs to explore her bedroom, which was "pink, just pink everywhere" and returned to find them swinging in the rope swing in the front yard. She hasn't shared anything about the trip other than to say it was "fun". I'm guessing she will open up and tell me little bits of her adventure in conversations throughout the next couple of days, or maybe this is one of the first experiences she will have and want to keep to herself. Either way, I'm proud of her and the self-knowledge she possesses at the age of six. I'm glad I let her make the decision and I'm content to see her continue to grow at her own pace.
When she got home, she asked if we could snuggle on the couch. She said she had missed me some. She may have entered a whole new world, but for now,she's still my baby girl.
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