It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life."
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As I set the table for our family brunch, I had this moment of amazement: our youngest grandchild eats with a regular plate, a regular fork, and a regular cup. Everyone has a place setting of “adult-ware.” Wait – when did this happen? We have a bin full of children’s unbreakable dishes and tiny spoons and forks, and no one needs them anymore. We babysit the grandkids for a day or two each week, and somehow I missed this? How long have we been serving them with regular utensils? Right under our eyes, they have moved on. I wasn’t even aware that there was a ‘last time.’
There must be countless other examples; let me think –
- all the baby clothes that no longer fit
- now they put on their own socks and shoes
- they open their own yogurts and cheese sticks
- they know how to wash and dry their hands
- when I am watering plants, they actually help me … whoa …
When we go for a walk these days, it’s the baby dolls who get strolled – and the granddaughters who do the pushing and caregiving.
Our babies have grown.
I seriously don’t know when it happened, and I wish there was some way to slow it down. Yes, yes, I realize they are still quite little (ages 5 and 3), but this is astounding to me.
From one stage to the next, time passes almost invisibly. No fanfare, no pushing, no demanding, it just happens, in the midst of living.
I tried my hand at a triolet, to hold my reflections –
holding you close oh my sweet dear one tender as morning dew kissed by adoring sun oh my sweet dear one life’s magic being spun beaming light anew oh my sweet dear one tender as morning dew