I’ve had many favorite stages and ages since becoming a parent, but I had to say that five might just be the icing on the cake. With a toddler at home who can best be described as a wild animal, my daughter is my calm in a sea of crazy. It’s funny how I once said this exact thing about my infant son, back when I was raising the same daughter at 3 years old. It’s clever how the ebb and flow of life turns things upside down like that.

Watching my daughter settle into her “big girl” self is an experience more special than words could give it. She still relies on me to be the expert of all things, never taking “I don’t know” as a good enough answer. Yet she is constantly teaching me. Teaching me compassion. Teaching me to step back and breathe. Teaching me to enjoy the little things and each other.

Teaching me to follow my passions with pride like she follows her’s.

(all while reminding me that nobody is great at everything)

Her newest source of pride? Swimming. She’s become quite the fish, beaming over her latest accomplishment of swimming straight from the shallow to deep end without stopping.

I’m not sure who is more proud. Her or me?