Maddie is Six

Maddie is six today.

I was awakened at about 4:00 in the morning to Didi woofing gently down the hallway.  I got out of bed and stepped into the hallway to shush her, and figured I might as well stop by the bathroom as long as I was up.

I froze just outside the bathroom because a tiny voice from Maddie’s room tinkled through the stillness of the wee hour asking, “Daddy, is it morning yet?”

This began a morning that segued into a day that rushed by in a frantic blur.

Maddie is six.

She got her Elsa dress after breakfast.  She got to hand out treats at school and they sang her the birthday song.  Trine, Vibeke, and I escorted her and 11 of her peers from the school to the house at 2:00 pm and we had a rousing Frozen party (“Frost Fest” in Danish) until 5:00 pm.

Then it was time to prep for a little family birthday dinner with Vibeke and Jørgen.

Then it was time for the Julekalendar tv shows: Tidsrejsen and Pyrrhus.

Then, finally, it was time for bed.

Maddie rode an emotional roller coaster all day: she was so excited she could barely walk a straight line.  By the end of the party she was like an unruly drunk.  But by 8:45 pm she lay in bed, snuggled up with the Elsa doll that Nana & Pop-Pop had sent, a big smile on her face… and though she called out to me once to tell me Pyrrhus had been scary when that thing happened with Santa Claus, it couldn’t have been much later than 8:48 pm that she was fast asleep.

As I should be now!

I’m so dreadfully behind on this blog despite behind-the-scenes attempts to get caught up (which machinations have been underway since June), but I won’t descend into promises or excuses.  I am going to make up for lost time, including lots of retroactive stuff, over Christmas vacation.  Seriously.

But for now, happy birthday Maddie.  You were a wonderful five year old and give every indication of being a spectacular six year old.  You are smart and funny and curious and beautiful and just crazy enough to keep things interesting without making them scary.  One anecdote before I go to bed just to illustrate who you are right now:

Maddie’s teacher was very busy one day last week because her colleague was out sick and one of the kids in the class was barfing and everything was at sixes and nines, and she had to do something but didn’t want to leave the class with nothing to do — so she asked Maddie to read to them.  So she did.

(I am also very proud of Molli Malou for what a great big sister she was today, but that’s a story for another day.  Actually, right now, everything is a story for another day.  I’m toast.)