Passages

I spent the weekend with my daughter.  Back in December, I purchased tickets for Christmas for Emily to an upcoming musical, Phantom of the Opera, and Saturday was the day of the performance.  It's Emily's favorite musical and we both enjoyed it so much. 

Afterwards, she and I headed to dinner and then to the mall to try and find a prom dress.  I mentioned before that we found a dress back in November for only $12, which was a bargain because it was marked down from $118!  However, months later, after trying it on again, we decided it didn't fit the way it had initially and just wasn't going to be suitable.  I knew that may happen which is why I didn't mind spending $12.

We didn't find anything Saturday evening so after church yesterday, headed to a different mall with a friend of Emily's and at the second store, found the perfect dress.  She looks beautiful!

More importantly, I spent time connecting with my child.  I'm realizing that there is not much more time with her before she is heading off to college.  We have signed her up for the SAT and ACT, which are both placement tests that some colleges require.  She will be a senior in high school in the fall and is fluffing her feathers and getting ready to soar off into the future soon.  It's bittersweet for us.

Time flies so quickly.  I remember when she was just a little thing, toddling around the house.  One of my fondest memories of her was when she was about 18 months old.  She walked and talked early and was quite intelligent for a toddler.  One day the boys were playing outdoors, and I happened to see her standing in the open window, wiggling her hips back and forth with a cookie in her hand.  She taunted them in a sing-song voice, "Boys, I have cookies!"  LOL!!!  It still makes me laugh as she still likes to tease them.

I'm trying to take time to enjoy these small moments.  They will pass quickly and I don't want to miss one of them!