Adulthood

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When I was a child, I remember feeling like time just dragged on.  The school year felt like it lasted more than a year.  The year I had to wait to get my driver’s license seemed to never end.  And that wait until graduation seemed to take forever.  The watched pot never boils, I guess, was the lesson.  We always wanted it to be now – not living in the moment of now until the time passed for it to be here.

I think all adults realize at some point how fast time flies.  Winter may drag on forever.  Fall arrives too fast.  The work week drags on while the weekend flies by.  Time, we realize overall, moves too fast.

Way too fast.

My oldest is 18 today.

G summarized it best when he commented that she cannot be 18 yet because we just brought her home from the hospital, he just read to her the first comic, she just named our first dog after a character on her shoe at 18 months, she just had a pet caterpillar at 5, she just learned to dive (7), and started taekwondo (10), and ….and….and…

And now she is 18.  We look back on the time and despite knowing how fast it goes – it has still taken us by surprise.

When she would hit milestones even as baby, we would look at each other and say, “this is the best age!”  Whether she was smiling or cooing or laughing or rolling or crawling or running or telling us stories or drawing us pictures or loving her sister or making friends at school or learning new things – we always would smile and say, “This – THIS is the best age!”

I know how lucky we are to be able to say that – to still be able to say that – and continue to be able to say that.

Everything until today has been the best age – and I have no doubt it will continue for not only us but for her.

SB in his well wishes to her reminded her that “what has gone before is only a prologue.  Now the real adventure begins!”

The kid loves adventures.  And she is going to take on a new one – far away from home (much further than this mom is happy about, but it isn’t about me but her).  But she is ready (most days she would agree with me).  And I know she will kick ass and take names because that is who she has always been.  Her determination and spirit makes it happen.   And while nothing came without the cost of frustration for her, she never has ever let that stop her – she has always worked hard and made things happen.

I know that is the kind of adult she will be.

I know that even though I don’t know how we got to this adulthood so quickly.

What do you think?

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