Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.
He who looks outside, dreams. He who looks inside, awakens. Carl Jung

Monday, June 20, 2011

And Then I Blinked

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They outgrow us much faster than we outgrow them…loosely paraphrased from a Jodi Picoult character

At a recent weekend getaway, my youngest daughter (10 going on 25) insisted we buy the above wedding dress but finally settled for a picture.  This is my dress she said. 

I’m torn between differing emotions but will leave the thoughts about why my little one is already thinking about weddings for another day.   What strikes me most is just how fast our children grow up.  Cliché or not it is so true.  I look at my daughters and can still feel their little baby bodies in my arms.  I’ve “launched” one daughter and although she is doing well I still feel a deep-seated ache that my family is no longer intact. I get that a healthy identity is separate from others but also recognize that parenting doesn’t end at an arbitrary age.  And that age isn’t ten like my youngest might like me to think.  Regardless, it seems incredulous to me that we are here, in this space, one daughter an adult, another on the verge of puberty.  Wasn’t I changing diapers yesterday?!  As Steve Martin says in “Cheaper by the Dozen”…no more blinking!

At least she has good taste - the dress is gorgeous:) 

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2 comments:

  1. It's true. It goes by in the twinkling of an eye. Enjoymthe journey.

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  2. It's a gorgeous dress. If she still wants to marry when she's older, I hope she remembers it and wears one just like it.

    I think someone needs to teach a No Blinking class for all of us. I can't believe that my nieces, nephews, and the greats have become so independent. Some are even all grown up. ^_~

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