time's fun when you're having flies

it just occurred to me that my five year old is starting kindergarden this year. somehow this has caught me by surprise. you'd think i would have seen it coming seeing as how i've gone through all the paperwork to get her registered and she got a nifty tin school house rock lunchbox, and even has a pretty dress for her first school picture. this morning i find myself bewildered at where the time went. kiddo's a big girl now...reading at a first to second grade level, adding and subtracting numbers, taking dance classes, getting much better at being nice to her sister, playing my little pony on piano by ear and singing along with herself. i so clearly remember her being born and how i was a bawly mess when i first got to hold her and then had to scream "get her off me i'm going to puke" (side effect of too much epidural). she looked like a little alien as all babies do, but of course she was perfect in every way. i remember her eating and ralphing and getting bit by bugs and swelling up like crazy, walking (January 4, 2002-3 days shy of her 10 month birthday), halloween costumes, greeting trick or treaters at the door by saying "Hi kids!! I'm a COW" and so many other memories that are too numerous to lay down in one post. but now she's 5 and kindly reminds me to be nice to people when i'm driving and that i shouldnt say mean things to other drivers....she says that those other drivers just dont know how to drive better and that they need to go to school to learn to drive. damn. she's an amazing kid and i'm more proud than i could ever have words to express it. i can't imagine how i will be on september 7th at 8.15 in the morning when i will take her to her first day at school. school officials will have to scoop me up off the floor with a shovel and dump me out onto the sidewalk. so cheers to Cara Marie who is the best five year old on the planet!