Ten

Did you ever play this party game?

When you are ten, you are growing ridiculously tall and beautiful.
When you are ten your friends are the people that you want to spend most of your time with.
When you are ten, your tolerance for siblings is variable; you can take the greatest delight in their cute and amusing ways, but they can also irritate you beyond measure.
When you are ten you are living more and more in the external world but you'll still spend hours on your scooter making up stories.
When you are ten you are busy and tired and easily bored.
When you are ten you love your cousins and grandparents and family folk lore.
When you are ten you make up plays with friends and siblings and perform them for a not-always-appreciative audience (me mostly).
When you are ten you think your parents are unbelievably unfair quite often.
When you are ten it sometimes feels like your mother is not listening, even when she says she is.
When you are ten it is very frustrating having to wait for and explain things to your little sisters when you just want to get on with it. But it is also very satisfying teaching them new things and reading them stories.
When you are ten you are writing and drawing so beautifully and you still want to be a writer and illustrator when you grow up. You have a way to capture a scene with a few words that is enviable.
When you are ten your mother is feeling very pleased that nine is behind us. We're embarking on our second decade together, my darling darling girl. Happy Birthday Ru.