A Letter to Patty on her 5th Birthday

My Dearest Patty,

I always say this whenever your birthday (or Ate Katie’s) comes around: time flies by so fast! Those days of you being a bald, squishy, wide-eyed baby in my arms seem like it was just yesterday. But today, I have a gorgeous, smart, artistic, strong-willed little lady before my eyes!

You are five years old today, my love. What a good age to be! You are about to graduate from childcare—your teachers and friends will miss you, for sure! You have done several visits to what will be your new school when you start your Primary years, and I know that you are excited about moving to “big” school.

Today, we celebrated your birthday for the last time in childcare. As it is every year (except two years ago), Daddy and I brought a special cake to share with everyone in the school. You also made a birthday crown that you wore at afternoon tea. It is so nice to celebrate with friends! Next week, we will have a BIG party at home, as you requested.

We also had our own celebration at home. I cooked everyone’s favourite spaghetti and you got another cake to blow candles on. You also opened your present. We hope you like it, bub!

This past year, you have grown so much! You are very artistic and can spend an hour or two working on a drawing, and making interesting colour combinations. I am awed by your talent and promise to give you a lot of opportunities to nurture it.

You also like to learn—reading, writing and you love asking questions about the world. Sometimes, I don’t know the answers, so we have to look it up on the computer. You are done with the “Frozen” phase, and in the past year, you’ve loved watching “Encanto” and “Turning Red”. You have memorised the songs. Amazing!

You are quite independent as well. Since you know that Mummy does not know how to draw a lot of things, you always say “Mummy, write “how to draw a <object>” in my computer”. You would follow along with videos of drawing demonstrations on Youtube. We already have a big folder of your paintings, and I plan to frame and hang some of them in our house.

There are times you can be stubborn, and challenge me whenever I want you to do something. You have questions that sometimes I cannot answer. We really butt heads sometimes, my girl. But know that I love you and I am always watching out for what’s good for you.

I see that you like the company of your friends, and you thrive on your interactions with them. I like that you make friends, and are so kind to them. You are also so kind to Ate and always watch out for her. You like to help Ate when she goes to school. Thank you for being a good sister.

Oh, my pretty Patty-pat. You are such a joy to be with. You make our lives so much happier. You challenge, question, smile and laugh happily. Such a smart girl, you are!