When Little Girls Grow Up

I remember when you were born. You and your older sister were always dressed alike and people thought you were twins, but you would say in your little girl voice, "We're not twins! We're tixteen months apart!" I had to dress as Ariel the little mermaid for your birthday but your favorite Disney movie quickly became Beauty and the Beast. The years passed by. You went from dance to softball. You soon became taller than me. And then one day I went to your high school graduation and I was introduced to your new boyfriend. Now that man is your husband.

Yesterday was my cousin Mallory's wedding. She's my second cousin to get married (the first was McKenzie). She was absolutely beautiful and everything went perfect and now she's a wife and she's off on her honeymoon.

I know that this is all very real but to me it seems impossible. How could any of my seven younger cousins be old enough to get married? How could one of them, McKenzie, be old enough to have a little girl? I remember when they were born, when they went through chicken pox, when they were little enough to drive me crazy, and now two are married, one's a mother, and the very youngest is about to graduate high school.

It's the same way with my younger siblings. How could Eric be turning 30 next year? How could Trevor be nearly 13 and as tall as me? How could Elizabeth be in high school already? Where does the time go?

You see, that's the funny thing about time. We never think we have enough of it and it seems to slip so quickly from our grasp. I think a lot of this springs from not being aware of the present moment. Stop and take a minute to think about where you are right now, what you are doing, what is surrounding you. Right now I'm sitting in my dad's house in the Midwest, typing up a blog on his computer. He and my stepmother and my three half-brothers have gone to church. My brother Eric is sleeping downstairs. I have two aunts just down the street and my grandma. The sun is shining and it's the end of October.

But don't just take this minute to become aware of your present moment. Take this minute to be grateful for everything that you have been blessed with in your life. I am grateful that I had the vacation time from work to come back to my hometown for my cousin's wedding. I am grateful that Dad had the airline reward points to get my ticket. I am grateful that I got to spend time with my wonderful family and my best friend in the whole world. I am grateful that Mallory's now new husband Dale survived his year in Afghanistan. I am grateful that Mallory and Dale's wedding went off just as well as they wanted. I am grateful that I got to laugh and dance and talk and bask in the awesome love of my family. And I am grateful that tonight I get to come home to my loving fiance and two puppies.