Cinco!

Five already. Where did the time go? In some ways this birthday for Elisa was the biggest milestone yet. After two years of preschool within walking distance of our apartment, she is finally school age and life is about to take on new routines and rhythms that revolve around public calendars and bus routes--things that are less about our family life and more about the external forces shaping her days. And of course as I mourn this, I also realize it's about time. It's time to be sending her off a little bit more on her own. She's ready for it, and so am I. This past year has had its share of ups and downs with Elisa's daily moods and behavior. She has tested me in more ways than I can describe, and I haven't always been pleased with my reactions. We have struggled together and at times it's been a mix of shouts and incriminations, tears and soothing hugs.  Just when we would go through a rough patch, things would somehow get better.  When she acknowledged her behavior and made amends, she could be the sweetest kid in the world. And yet, there was always another meltdown waiting in the wings. I might postpone it, but it was still coming for us despite my best efforts to not feed the drama. I'd like to think that's all behind us now at the ripe old age of 5, but I know better. My hope is that it's finally waning and we will see her enjoying and thriving with the stimulation of a full day school schedule--or at least not coming home every day and completely collapsing.

You see, rest is a big part of our daily routine right now.  Elisa has continued to nap throughout this past year and for the most part, I think she still needs it. It takes a lot of energy to be so high maintenance and many afternoons Elisa is the first one to say she's tired. Napping is easier now than it's ever been.  And with Carolina still taking her once a day siesta, it's been pretty convenient to have two napping girls in this house up til now.  But we are approaching the first weeks of school and of adjusting to a new schedule for Elisa. And despite the fact that her school includes nap/quiet time each day, I'm not expecting it to be the same restorative time for her. So we'll see this week how it goes, and more importantly next week when she goes all 5 days. I know she can do it, but I'm also wondering how it will change our evenings and just the flow of life with two kids on different schedules. Certainly it won't be like our lazy, carefree time in Spain where sleeping, eating and swimming were the only priorities. Yes, it was a good time to celebrate this girl turning another year older especially since her cousins were even more fun to hang with than last year. Hearing Carolina and Elisa shouting for Alvaro and playing all kinds of games with Sara was great. They really get along well together, and I think it made the day of birthday festivities even better.

So after a leisurely day hanging out and swimming, we ended up hosting the birthday dinner at a local restaurant/bar within the Encinar neighborhood complex.  It made life much easier to just order some appetizers (grilled shrimp, calamari, huevos rotos, tortilla and croquetas) and enjoy the evening all seated around one long table. No worrying about Abuela or the aunts cooking and cleaning all day long. And with the water cut offs we experienced this summer (and that evening), who wants to deal with washing up the next day?  So we opted for making a mess outside the house and it since it was nearby, it was a perfect fit.  A band played Cuban and Latin American music and the girls danced around the table after sitting pretty well throughout the dinner.  Then we headed back to Pauli and Ignacio's house for cake and presents and a champagne toast. They definitely know how to celebrate in Spain and even after Diego's birthday the day before, we were still ready to raise more glasses in the air. So after all that, the kids began asking about going for a swim. I think they all remembered Elisa's birthday last summer and how it ended in a midnight swim, so they began to gang up on us. And just like that, Nacho grabbed his swim trunks and jumped at the chance to honor his birthday girl. If she wanted to swim, we would swim, he said. And what a good dad and uncle he is. He helped Carolina take a few turns around the pool in that frigid water, and Elisa was loving the soft glow of the lights as she splashed around. Diego and Alvaro took turns jumping, diving and being tossed into the water until finally Jesus joined in the fun and took the plunge. It was a family affair and we all sat around the water's edge laughing and encouraging the swimmers until they were cold enough to get out. Yes, another birthday down and another memory-making visit to Spain all in one. Elisa didn't have the swimming break through she enjoyed last year with her floaties, but she definitely basked in the birthday glow for a full day. And there were no tears. Maybe that's a sign of things to come. I hope so.