Dear Talitha,
You are six, my little love. You came of age – so to speak – in the midst of a pandemic. You were wrapping up preschool and learning to read when Covid hit the globe and then you bounced around for your kindergarten year — first at a learning academy in California and then at two different schools in Arizona with a little bit of “homeschool” in the mix.
Somewhere in the midst of moving states and staying home and going to school… you officially made the transition from preschooler to big kid. I hear the inflection of maturity in your voice when you tell me stories now. You have a dry sense of humor, just like your dad, and you are hardly impressed with other people’s antics, which is also just like your dad.
Although you can be stingy with your affection, you’ve accepted me as one of your closest companions. I have been in your inner circle for a while, and I hope I always get a front row seat to watch your life and cheer you on. I love snuggling you at bedtime when you tell me your low and high of the day, and often ask me endless questions about the world at large. You are reserved in large groups, but you are never reserved with me.
I pray the next few years are slow and boring for you, compared with the tumultuous times you faced between ages five and six. I hope you develop as a budding soccer player, get a chance to use your pretty singing voice, and master reading and writing. You are already better at math than I am, so I guess we don’t need a calculator around the house anymore.
We named you Talitha Joy – and our interpretation of its meaning is, “Little girl, arise with joy each day.” Ironicallly, I arise with joy each day because God gave me you.
Love always,
Mama
