It’s amazing to me how one’s focus and priorities change as one grows older. When I was 18, I just wanted to graduate high school and was looking forward to my path towards college. Shortly after turning 19, I became a certified nursing assistant and enjoyed my job working on a psychiatric unit. At that time my focus was on work. When I was 22, my center of attention was turned towards tending to my new husband and his needs. Since then, my focus has been my children, their education and being a good employee.
All this reflection is due to the fact that this Friday is my birthday. For some odd reason, I have decided to focus on all the changes that are occurring in my life. This past Monday was a day of enjoyment mixed with a bit of sorrow. Like a rite of passage, this was my 13 year-old daughter’s last time trick-or-treating. It sadly reminded me of when she found out that I was the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. The innocence of being a child is now lost, only to be passed to the next generation. It is exciting yet sad to see my daughter transition to adulthood and blossom into a wonderful young woman.
My daughter is not the only one transitioning into adulthood. This past week, my son had his first date to his first school dance. I was so proud of my 11 year-old son when I found out that he had slow danced with his date four times. Then, on Saturday, my son will go hunting for the first time and become my little man.
The irony of all this reflection is that, as I am writing this blog, my son is busily playing with his Star Wars action figures and my daughter is drawing pictures of some kind of “Neo pet character”. This reminds me that even though they are growing up, they are still very much children and we are just at the beginning of the transition process. I still have some time in which to enjoy their innocence.
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