An invitation to a birthday party seems to be a rite of passage in our culture these days. This morning, Maddie is off to her first. For years now, she’s watched her sisters head off to various parties and she has dreamed of the day that it would be her turn. Today it was her turn. She’s talked about it all week and was more than just a little excited. This morning, her sisters helped her get ready – one of them helped her tie the bow on her shirt, the other helped write out the card. I wish you could see her new sneakers on this picture – she’s SO proud of them. Pink faux-converse. Too cute.
Julie is itching to become a driver. She drives every chance she gets. She’s learned to drive her Pépère’s (that’s French for grandfather) lawn tractor, and sat on my lap last week as she drove our car around Marcel’s parents’ yard. Yesterday we went to Thunder Rapids and she lived out a little part of her dream by driving a go-cart like a little speed-demon.
Nothing makes me realize how muck Nikki is growing up like watching her take responsibility for her little cousin. She dotes over her every chance she gets and handles her like an old pro. She’s always been so responsible. I remember when Maddie was learning to crawl – she often kept a closer eye on her than I did. And now she’s doing the same thing for little Abigail. Last night, she got to feed her carrots.
The pieces of my children’s lives are passing before me like a fast-paced movie on the big screen. Sometimes I wish I could grab the remote control and hit re-wind so I can re-live some of the really good parts. If not re-wind, then I’d at least hold the pause button down now and then to keep them from passing into the next stage quite so quickly. The growing up and the growing away hurts sometimes.
At the same time, I get such a rush when I look at them and realize the incredible people they are growing up to be. Yesterday was one of those days as we mini-golfed and drove go-carts and bumper boats. As much as I loved their baby-hood, I’m also loving their budding independence when I can sit on the sidelines a little more and watch them grow and become.
How did I get so lucky?