Graduation

We can't let the milestone pass without another commentary.

She has grown so much.  When she was first born I was home with her for ten weeks before I had to go back to work and my parents became her babysitter.  She became a "little adult" then.  She has always interacted well with people who are older than her; she naturally gravitates toward parents over kids when we are in a crowd of people.  She has a level a maturity that was once described as "a thirty-five year old trapped in a twelve year old's body."  True.

As I write this today I have her Easter picture propped up by my computer.  Above the desk are pictures of her through the ages.  A smiling three month old with the litlte head squisher.  Then as a six month old surrounded by teddy bears.  At nine months wearing a little sweatsuit with canvas tennis shoes and holding "Lammy Lamb."  Her precious one year old picture when I couldn't imagine she could ever be more beautiful.  In time her sisters came along so there are group photos.  Pictures at three years old (where she finally had enough hair to look like a little girl instead of a baby) and through various states of tooth loss. 

But today she is the gorgeous teenager with perfect hair and perfect-never-needed-braces-teeth.  She is the girl who led the singing at graduation Mass (3 songs), read petitions and played the offetory song on piano. 

After Mass we went to the reception in the gym.  There I was able to thank two of our three favorite teachers for all they have done for my girl.  Her kindergarten teacher is no longer at her school but she came back to see her kids graduate; I cried.  Just seeing her again. 

Such wonderful people to take care of my girl and help her grow into my beautiful teenager.

(Ok, if you are sick of me going on and on about my girl, you can take comfort in the fact that she will not be the topic of tomorrow's post.  I promise.)