Growing Up

This park is just down the street from our house... When Sadie was one we went here a few times to play. Last summer was a much different story--if I didn't want to stop I had to re-route my walk in order to not go near the park! Sadie loves going here--we ended up here at least every other day over the summer.

Back in May we started going after school ALOT to pass some time before Marc gets home from work. On one of these occasions, there were three 5th or 6th grade girls here playing. As I overheard their conversations and watched them play, it was good to see that they still had somewhat of an "innocence" about them. As I watched, I couldn't help but think, "Did their moms bring them here when they were little?" and "Do their moms know exactly where they are right now?" It got me thinking... How old will Sadie be when I let her walk down the street with a friend to the park? Will I secretly watch her to make sure she's safe? When do you start letting go and trust your child to make her own decisions? WOW--being a parent is really hard. I'm glad I still have time left, because I'm not at all ready to start handling these thoughts!

Although Sadie is years from going to the park by herself, I witnessed huge changes in her in just one summer. All of our first trips to the park were filled with calls of "Mommy, help me!" I can't pinpoint exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the way those calls turned into "Mommy, watch me!"

Don't get me wrong--I'm glad my little girl is growing up and I'm so excited she is becoming more independent and learning new things every day; however, it's sad to know that "Mommy, help me" will be used less and less as she continues to master so many new things.

(Don't even get me started on the little guy--he's growing up WAY too fast! With Sadie, I was so excited for each new milestone. This time around, I've continually thought, "Could you wait just a bit longer before learning that?" I can't even imagine how I will feel with baby #3 knowing that it may be our last!)

As Sadie continues to grow, I'm continuing to pray daily for wisdom, patience, and an abundance of love to give her. I know that our relationship will continue to change throughout her whole life and I'm excited to experience each new stage.

But for now, I just want to capture this moment in time...

By the way--just for the record: Sadie told me yesterday, "Mommy if you turn that water off again and I don't like it, I am going to tell you to go to timeout!"