Stop this train I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But honestly, won't someone stop this train?
My "baby" girl turns 13 tomorrow...how can it be possible that I am the mother of two teenagers?? Didn't I just finish being a teenager myself, only a couple of years back?
Birthdays, New Years Eve's...these are the milestone events that make us stop and reflect. And right now I'm reflecting that although I have two children, they aren't "children" any more.
In the blink of an eye, you go from this:
...to this:
So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game
To find a way to say that life has just begun
I remember when they were really little babies, I wanted time to stop. It felt as if every week they were growing and changing and I couldn't keep up and didn't want them to get bigger. And sadly, back in their babyhood, there were no digital cameras or smart phones to snap every little moment (OMG - I would have Instagrammed those babies like there was no tomorrow!!!).
I could look back at old those baby photos I do have, and maybe feel a twinge of regret, of sadness, of longing for that baby smell, when they loved you unconditionally and relied on you for everything.
This growing up gig, it's tough (for them and us)! Lessons to be learned, skills to be mastered, life to be lived, and just when you think you've got it figured out, they go and change and get different on you.
And if we're really lucky, we get to see it all, be part of it all, and help them on their way to being separate from us and be proud of the adults they are becoming.
Because if there is one thing that I never take for granted, it is that I have these children in my life, they are here and they love me as much as I love them.
Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
Don't think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
And honestly, we'll never stop this train
Oh, my! Bittersweet and beautiful, these growing up beings. I love seeing my children as they become stronger and more independent, at the same time I want it all to slow down. But, yeah, here I am without any teenagers and a 3 year old still ;) I fell like 10 is soooo grown up for my eldest.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your baby girl!
I feel like EVERY age is too grown up! Bittersweet - that describes it perfectly!
DeleteHappy Birthday to your girl. And yes it is hard, bittersweet, the teenage years are awesome years but they just whizz past as you say. I love being there helping them discover themselves, succeeding and stumbling. You're doing an awesome job{{}}
ReplyDeleteThanks Erin! I'm pretty proud of them, and part of that has to be me, surely!
DeleteI hear you sister ... it scares me to see how quickly they grow. Proud but sad at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Wombat "Teen" Girl ... have a beautiful birthday.
Thank you! She had a pretty nice day :-)
DeleteTwo October 13 year old girls continents apart. Sky turns 13 the 15th, time sure does fly way too fast.
ReplyDeleteWishing a very happy birthday!!
Two girls, separated by oceans....
DeleteHappy Birthday! 13 is an exciting year. I wish you all the best.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane!!
DeleteI'm in tears.
ReplyDeleteHappy 13 WG!
I may have shed a tear or two compiling that post!
DeleteMy son turned nine recently and my daughter will be six soon and I'm all waaaaah they have to stop getting older. I cried when my son started eating solids, my husband has never let me forget me blubbering "he looks so grown up, he's wearing a bib"...
ReplyDeleteI think we grieve every stage - no more newborn smells, no more bibs (I don't grieve no more nappies though - draw the line somewhere!). The train keeps on - but for that, I am grateful :-)
DeleteI can't say I would miss that too easily, though :)
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