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"Nothing stays the same."
"Ivy, love, come downstairs. You don't want to be late for your first day of kindergarten!"
At the sound of my mother's voice, I quickly finished brushing my teeth with my Winnie the Pooh light-up toothbrush. It was my favorite toothbrush because it played the Winnie the Pooh theme song.
I really liked Winnie the Pooh.
I washed the bubblegum flavored fizz down the drain and stepped off of my stepping stool, stashing it away under the counter where my mom said it belonged. I quickly ran downstairs and jumped into my mother's open arms.
"Hey, love bug, your outfit looks beautiful. You're going to have every kid in school wanting to be your new best friend." She winked at me, giving me an encouraging smile. As I smiled back up at her, two muscular arms wrapped around me and spun me around in the air.
"Daddy, put me down!" I giggled furiously, flailing around. He set me back upon my feet and kissed the top of my head, messing with my hair. I stuck my tongue out at him and tried to flatten it back down again.
"Good morning, Kathryn," Dad said, walking over and kissing mom just like he had done to me, but without messing up her hair.
He tried to do that once, but mommy got really angry and hit him in the stomach; but they ended up kissing and it was gross.
"Good morning, William," Mom replied, sweetly, kissing him on the cheek. She turned back around to face me and set her coffee down, gesturing toward the chair beside her. "Sit down, love bug, let's fix your hair."
I excitedly ran over and hopped into the chair while she grabbed her pretty gold brush. She began running it through my long brown curls, careful not to hurt my head.
She was always very gentle.
"What are we wanting today? Pig tails?" She asked, eyeing me with a raised eyebrow.
I always wondered how she did that. It was like magic.
"Pig tails, please!" I shouted excitedly, attempting to wiggle my eyebrows the same way she had. She laughed softly and began parting my hair down the middle. "The song, Mommy, you gotta sing the song!" I reminded her. She sighed lightly and began singing.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above the world, so high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are."
She finished and tied my hair up quickly, smiling down at the finished product. She let me get up and run over to the mirror to look at it.
"I love it, Momma!" I cheered as I ran over to give her a big hug. "Now it's perfect!"
"You look beautiful, love bug. You ready to go?" She asked me, picking up her keys. I nodded and grabbed my backpack, heading for the front door.
"Wo-ho-hoah. Wait, where's my goodbye hug?" My dad asked as he pouted out his lips. I quickly ran back and jumped into his arms. "That's better. Have a good day at school. I love you."
