If You Love Her, Let Her Go

It was casual.

She sat on the couch for an hour watching Aladdin and when we told her it was time to get ready she decided she wanted to play upstairs instead.

I thought she was wavering.

But she wasn’t.

She came down ten minutes later with her blanket and a tea set. Walked up to me. Smiled. Gave me a hug. And said, “Bye Mommy.” As if that was all that was necessary. She had made up her mind. She was resolute. And she was ready to go.

Not ready to go to Grandmommy’s for a night or to spend the day with her cousin or to go downstairs to her class for five hours.

She was ready to go outside. Get in my parents’ car. And drive twelve hours to my brother’s house in Texas.

Without me.

Eldon’s First Birthday Party

It’s true. Just a few posts back I was showing his nursery. Now I’m showing his first birthday. That, my friends, is just kind of how this first year has gone.

I blinked.