LITTLE GIRL WITH LONG LEGS! #BLOGCHATTERA2ZCHALLENGE

 

Nine years ago, we would refer to her as moon-faced, cheeky and adorable. Today, while ‘adorable’ still stands, we wonder where all those folds have gone, those triple chins and that fat little neck! At nine, Zo is tall and lanky, with no spare flesh on her. She has never-ending legs and runs like a gazelle, often defeating even boys older than her. She is learning to swim and the way those long legs knife through the water is a treat to watch.

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How time does fly, doesn’t it? As much as we yearn to keep the years within our palm, the seeds of time trickle out, bringing about changes that are often startling. Isn’t it the same with pets? They start off being the cutest little creatures on earth, and all you want to do is cuddle them. Then they grow up, and upwards, and turn into machines of destruction, leaving nothing standing in their wake.

Going back to our very own ‘Missy Long Legs’, so much has changed in nine years, apart from the puppy fat. P often says she is nine going on teenage, and yes, we can see glimpses of the young lady that she is going to be in another seven years or so. There are times when she runs wild, regaling us with her antics along with Sam, who is always ready to add on to the madness and chaos.

At other times she is prim and proper, minding her ‘Ps’ and ‘Qs’ as she meets her school friends and the whole conversation is controlled and correct.

P says that both Zo and Sam have their school voices. They sound different in school. Sam, who loves his share of cuddles and kisses, suddenly turns shy in school when he is with his classmates. I smiled when P told us this. “Wait till they grow a bit older”, was my rejoinder.

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When their cousins come over, they all let their collective hair down, and along with the two excitable dogs, they also bring the roof down. V gets nervous when the noise levels go up, especially after eight in the night, which is when the neighbours start to frown.  Which is why he prefers to do his renowned braais during the day! 

Zo and Sam love going to school, which is wonderful. There is much they learn and do there, and they both adore their teachers. Since there are only about twenty to twenty-five students in a class, it makes it easier to handle them. However, I am impressed with the report cards that come home at the end of every term. They are so detailed and comprehensive, giving out every aspect of a child’s development in each subject, along with their pluses and minuses.

I remember a friend of mine lamenting on how her clothes get smaller sitting in her cupboard. P says the same thing about Zo’s clothes as well. Her tights climb to her shins, and higher, in the nick of an eye. Every time we pick up tights for her, we buy a size larger, just so that she can wear them for a proper duration before the next buy round the corner.

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Both Nana and I are aware of how precious these moments are. When Zo comes running for a hug or Sam twines his arms around our necks, we hug them even tighter, knowing that there will come a time when the affection and love will remain, but these demonstrations may become rarer, confined to occasions and special days. Two months in a year is all the time we get with them, and we make the most of it, taking them for walks to the nearest mall, playing carrom and Monopoly, reading and drawing together, even as the clock keeps ticking.

 For as Omar Khayyam put it so aptly:

I am participating in the #BlogchatterA2ZChallenge2025.

https://deepties.blogspot.com/2025/04/little-girl-with-long-legs.html