Changes in Victoria.. and the new boy

No... she has not grown breast yet... LOL!  OK, silly joke. 

But seriously, I have been noticing that my little girl is more matured these days.  She speaks differently, unlike the very innocent, kindy kid she once was.  More of peer influence, or just growing up. 

The other day I was sending Vic and her BFF home after school and these girls were chatting about their class teacher (not the best around, fyi).  Vic said, "XX lou shi didn't come to school today, I think she's pregnant" and the two girls burst out in girly giggles!  Then her BFF commented, "Oh my goodness!  I tell XX lou shi you said that!" then more giggles...

I couldn't help smiling to myself.  Close my eyes and I wouldn't know these are 7 yos chatting.  For sure, I did not talk like this when I was 7.    

For one, she is more courageous to speak her mind.  Not vocal, not aggressive nor pushy.  She still retains the demure, shy part of her, but when push-comes-to-shove, she has on a few occasions voiced out her frustrations. 

For example, during piano practice the two of us can get quite emotional, with her ending up in tears or a sour face, and the mother raising her voice.  In between sobs, she'd tell me her frustrations.  I think I like this.  I like it that she doesn't just keep quiet in her own thoughts, and cry and just absorbs what others says. 

She's also more expressive -  sometimes telling me her feelings.  Other times, she'd just say, "Nothing."  (Sounds familiar, especially to the men?)  When I was upset once, William came around to hug me and asked me why.  I said, "Nothing" and the boy immediately commented, "Why nothing?  You sound like Jie Jie."

Like mother, like daughter I guess.  Or just a girl thing.

Victoria cries when she feels she has been unfairly treated or blamed, and unable to express those feelings in words, her tears fall.  I feel her.  I know her this much.  I've known why her tears fall even without her saying why.   Yet, even though I feel we have been closer, there are times when I feel the challenges of breaking through to my little girl. 

Victoria's always been eager to help, whether in the kitchen or at school.  She's been a teacher's helper during the first semester, carrying books up to the teacher's room with a few other friends.  But she's stopped that now based on our advice, after missing out on copying her Ejaan from the blackboard.  I told her yesterday, "It's ok, next year you help out again, just make sure you get your work completed first."

And the interesting part... who's the new boy? 

Title:  Who's he?  
(my amateur attempt at poetry)

I mustn't reveal his name, though I've not sworn an oath, nor did we make pinkie promises, but I know this is our little secret; 
I'm putting this down only because I'm afraid one day I will forget, and she too, so this is her little crush, or the boy's. 

He's a caring boy, the way she say; 
When she's out of class to the little girl's, he helps take her books out from her bag,
Even her color pencils too, and chooses the colors for her. 

He's been offering her his snacks, and now I understand why Vic isn't keen to bring hers to school anymore; 
Not that she eats his, because she knows she can't due to her allergies; 
She's this obedient, I tell y'all;
So she turns down his kind offer each time, and once, took only a cherry tomato from his snack box;  So I'm impressed, that this boy eats cherry tomatoes too, that's a brownie point from me to him. 

And he speaks Chinese quite well too, whilst Vic speaks in the Queen English,
So he helps her with her Chinese work and vice versa.

Once as I was attempting to fix Vic's mechanical pencil (by the way, she has a collection of them),
Vic said, "No worries, Mummy... because xxx can help me too, he has fixed my other pencil before."
Oh I see... and I looked at Daddy, giving him the wink that he's not the only Fixer in her life now. 

And this boy tells Vic that she's his best best BEST friend in the class,
Vic says the same of him, together with a couple more names of course,
For the record, just so we don't keep guessing in the future,
He sits beside her and his name starts with a "T"
But DO NOT ASK HER about him, ok?

~the end~

So there... my little girl, and her "other" good friend.  For this, she is glad that next year there will be no shuffling of classes, yet she wished that this girl Heather will be out. 

Oh well, Vic... we can't control how others behave, but we learn to adapt ourselves to our environments, and pick the good, leave the bad. 

Can you believe that it's close to year end now, and wasn't it just a few blinks ago that the kids started their first day at school?  I need to recount my white hair now.