The Beauty of Five - a late mother's day reflection

Linking this small playful glimpse at 5 year olds  with Laura over at The Wellspring for her weekly gathering:  

The work-out room becomes a place of celebration,

a space for small children to sing loudly, 

recite poetry and look adorable.

Grandchild #6 (and grandgirl #1) 

is finishing her final year of pre-school at our local YMCA. 

And today was the special Mother's Day 

performance and luncheon.

Wednesday is one of the days we keep grandgirl #2,

so I bundled her into the car,

along with all the assorted paraphernalia required,

and headed over to the park where the Y is located.

Lilly was excited to be there, 

Mama took a long lunch break from her patients so she could join us, 

and we all had a lovely time.

Gracie was decked out as a dinosaur hunter,

and along with the kids on either side of her in the picture to the right, she recited a 

short Shel Silverstein poem called, "Brontosaurus."

 When they began to sing their wonderful songs 

(my personal favorite - "A Bolt of Cloth" - 

about sewing, accompanied by a wide range 

of sound effects and hand motions),

I put on my long lens and just enjoyed shooting 

close-ups of this amazing face.

 What is it about five that is so magical?

Wide eyes, open to wonder;

a love of music and movement

and no insecurities to inhibit joyful expressions of both;

an ever-changing array of facial expressions,

moving across the planes and angles of a face 
no longer bearing any signs of baby or toddler.

 We have two 5-year-olds in our family circle right now so we can enjoy these wonders twice-over.

Five is marked by an ever-increasing vocabulary,

an inquisitive mind,

an encyclopedic memory,

the vestiges of 'baby talk' creeping through from time to time,

a marvelous sense of self, 

and a real delight in wordplay.

Five loves the limelight - in small doses.

Five can be tender, affectionate, thoughtful.

Five can sometimes be stunningly insightful,

finding truth with a capital "T" in stories they hear,

events as they happen,

songs they sing.

And five not only can be,

but IS

delightful, delicious and tons of fun.

Thanks, Gracie, for inviting me to your special day.

I love you!