My Darling Daughter is 14 -- time is flying by!

Warning - I might ramble a bit in this post.

I do not feel old enough to have a 14 yr old daughter. It does not seem possible. It just seems like yesterday she turned 10 - and before I know it she will be 18!

I think I am feeling old - because the other night we met her Uncle - my brother-in-law --- for dinner. My husband was going to join us late. So I was there with my 5 kids, and the brother-in-law shows up and he has one of our nieces he was babysitting. Anyway, he ran out to the car to grab something, and I asked my daughter (the 14 yr old) to slide down next to the little baby niece to watch her. The waiter came back to the table - turned to my teenage daughter and asked her - "Do you know what your HUSBAND would like to drink?" I got lightheaded as I heard that question...not being dramatic..... I truly felt lightheaded and a little sick. How could ANYONE mistake my 14 yr old for a wife! But then I looked at her all dressed up and taking such good care of her little cousin, and I thought I guess she could be mistaken as older, even for a second.

But a moment like that makes you realize that you will soon become a mother-in-law and then a grandma --- and it will happen in a blink of an eye! Life just goes by soooo fast, except on the days that your kids are driving you crazy. Those are the days you would swear had 48 hrs in that day and not just 24. =)


How does it happen - where does the time go? I bet we can all look back 5 yrs ago and think "that seems like only a year or two - not five!" I have days that I cannot believe that I am 35. It doesn't feel like I thought it would. I really have to stop and think about how old I am - because I see myself younger than that. I have decided that I will always be young at heart. I think that the saying "Your as young as you feel" is true.

Health area I AM 35, my 5th pregnancy did a number on my body. And until I look into the mirror I forget that my outside does not fit my inside image of me. I have had more health problems since I became pregnant with my last child. Ups and downs, scares to big relief and joy. And I know someday I will finally figure out how to get the outside me be as fit as the inside me feels.

So as I am writing this, I am listening to my 11 yr old son and 14 yr old daughter clean up the kitchen. And I have to smile -- because having your children get older faster than you wish some days -- DOES have its benefits. ;) I will just remember that the next time I cannot believe I am old enough for children that old. I need to stop and rejoice in the season I am in.

I think this post is a great example why I write this blog. It seems writing these feelings down sure helps me a lot to change my view on things or figure a way to feel better about something...and usually it happens by the end of my post.

As tomorrow is the 4th of July -- may I end this post with a Happy 4th to you all --- but especially to all those who are or have served our country and allowed us the freedoms we have. I would add a thank you to their families too. May we all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend.