What I’ll Miss Most About My Daughter’s Childhood

Infant stage: There is a lot of her infancy I will NOT miss: #1 being the 3 months of marathon colic she had.  The height of which she screamed for 18 hours. A day. Nonstop.  But after the colic blew over, she was the sunniest, happiest baby.  I could take her shopping without a nap and she was thrilled about seeing and being seen.  It never occurred to her to throw a tantrum. She smiled and laughed at everybody, and I mean everybody – people at the grocery, at the doctor’s office (when only 3 hours earlier a 102º temp), at the license bureau.  

Toddler stage: Again, there are things I cannot un-see: that stupid, purple dinosaur being one of them. And the Teletubbies – I would have gleefully drop-kicked each and every one of those horrible creatures. And even though she had non-stop ear infections, she was still an incredibly happy kid.  Thought I was the center of the universe.  Her little face would light up when I would pick her up at daycare. That alone was worth the price of admission to this ride called motherhood.

School Age stage: I look back on her first days of kindergarten with nostalgia; here was the start of her moving away from me.  Her kindergarten teacher was a 1^st year teacher and just the sweetest teacher you could imagine.  How she put up with 27 of these little darlings, I have no idea. It was indeed a trial by fire.  One of the best memories was the day Ms. Pelfrey asked her students who their favorite singer was.  My kid’s answer was “Rob Zombie”. So proud.  

Older elementary stage: She finally grew out of that-dinosaur-who-shall-remain-nameless stage and onto other shows on PBS and Disney. She was bullied for the first time and subsequently learned to stick up for herself.  She became fearless in speaking her mind and defending others.  At the end of her fifth grade year, we moved to another school district where she quickly found a friend right across the street. Although, I never did learn what happened to Arthur, his little sister D.W. or Buster. 

Jr. High/High School: The school district we moved to was much smaller than her previous one. She adapted quickly and decided she wanted to play volleyball.  Now, if any of you remember the spin-off show, Daria (from Beavis and Butthead), in the opening credits is exactly how I played volleyball.  My kid was not much better, but she faithfully went to practice and each game. She learned how to be part of a team. 

She is a Senior and will graduate in less than 6 months.  Not sure what I’ll do when she goes off to college, but I still have my memories.  And I can secretly watch Arthur without fear of getting caught.

Written by: Allyson Johns