Growing up

If you’ve never heard of Finding Joy by Rachel Martin, you need to look her up. I happened upon her website/blog sometime ago, and every once in a while, I slow down and take the time to read (and subsequently cry) over the words laid out in front of me. I recently had one of those nights. 

As I scrolled through my Facebook feed, I glanced at the words written. Powerful and tragic, I paused for moment..... 

“They grow. Oh sometimes it's subtle and sometimes it's crazy. A change here, some bravery there, but they don't stay small. They stop needing to hold your hand across the street and find friends and do daring things and read and grow up. The clothes are donated, the play food let go, the training wheels discarded, the new freedoms of growing up gained.”

Oh those words tugged hard at my heart strings. Yes, for all of our kiddos as we donate toys and clothes and Lincoln quickly learned to ride without training wheels. But mostly because it was only last week that I reminded Ryan we have just 5 more summers left with Regan. F.I.V.E.  

Here she’s 5 days old. 

5 years old. 

And 5 more years old. 

How on earth do the years slip by so quickly?

Tears streamed down my face tonight as I continued reading: 

"And then one day, they close the door and it is the last time..... Oh don't get me wrong-it will always be home....Maybe we don't talk about that space-that growing up, letting go space-when our homes, instead of becoming noisier, become the opposite. 

Quiet”. 

By this point I was pretty much sobbing. Maybe it's because we are embarking on a new school year, maybe it's because I have coworkers with college age (or older) kids that remind me daily to embrace this time because it goes too fast. Or maybe it's because I recalled that conversation reminding me that it won’t be long, and she’ll be the one heading off to new adventures. 

"Letting go is the deepest love of all". Thank goodness we don't have to let go quite yet. In the meantime, I’m going to hang on for dear life and remember to enjoy every second. I’m so proud of who these kiddos are becoming, it’s just happening so quickly.