Growing Up Too Fast

My niece, Emilie, with the boys...

Beauty is life when life unveils her holy face. But you are life and you are the veil. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror. --Kahlil Gibran

My Happiness Today...

By 10:00 this morning I mopped the floors, ran the sweeper, put in a load of laundry, desnotted two kids, and put both kids down for a nap. Makes my day....now if I can just get rid of the snot for good and they take a good nap!

On My Mind...

I saw my nieces and nephew the other day. The boys and I drove down for a quick visit. It was great to see them and watch them interact with my boys. Sam had such a great time running around their house letting them chase him. And of course he had a ball playing cars with Trevor. We only got to see Emilie for a short time since she had school that day and the other kids didn't but it was amazing to see what a beautiful woman she has become. It seems like just yesterday she was born and little....

• I remember buying her pink high-top converse sneakers when she was a toddler.
• I remember watching hours and hours of Barney with her and pretending to like it. I did, however, like watching her enjoy it.
• I remember when she saw the Riverdance video and she tried to dance like a Riverdance girl.
• I remember countless Halloween costumes where she was the cutest kid in a costume to be found anywhere.
• I remember taking her to Montana and spending a week with her and introducing her to fantastic things like Yellowstone National Park and room service.
• I remember Barbies being the center of her world.
• I remember talking to her on the phone when I could hardly understand a word she was saying.
• I remember taking her to Disney and watching her meet Minnie Mouse, Cinderella and all the other characters she loved.
• I remember days on the beach in Jersey in the summer and nights on the boardwalk eating ice cream.
• I remember reading books to her at bedtime. She always picked the long books because she was smart enough to know she'd get to stay up later.
• I remember taking her to the zoo.
• I remember buying her cowgirl boots. They were white with pink decorations.
• I remember taking her to see Star Wars. She didn't understand it but felt like a big girl because she got to see it.
• I remember my mother buying goldfish at Virginia Beach and putting them in a bowl on the picnic table on the deck. The sun was so hot the fish fried in the water. And Emilie informed grandma that she was going to "tell Jesus that you killed the fish."
• I remember trips to Nordstroms and watching Emilie walk around in all the fancy high heeled shoes during the annual shoe sale.

I remember so many things that I cannot even list them. Most of all, I remember cuddling her and just hanging out with her. Now she is a teenager and the last thing on her agenda is hanging out with her aunt. She's into cell phones, instant messaging, emailing, boys, sports, music and everything else that comes with being a teenager these days. She may wear make-up and look like a supermodel, but she'll always be that little girl I watched Barney with for hours. The little girl who wanted nothing more than to sit on my lap and read books. And I love her as much today as I did when she would sit on my lap. Perhaps more because I hardly get to see her and I miss hanging out with her and being a part of her world. It is said that you don't know what you've got until it is gone. She's not gone, just a teenager. And I guess I just have to accept that she is growing up and so am I...