Dear Sassy,
Please excuse me for a minute while I catch my breath, my heart seems to have stopped working. I guess I wasn’t prepared for what my heart would feel when I watched you laugh and pose for your senior portraits.
Do you know what I saw?
I saw the young girl who kept her naked Barbies in the fridge.
I saw the girl who for two weeks went to preschool looking like a smurff after her sister colored her from head to toe with a blue permanent marker.
I saw the girl who rolled and flipped and rolled down a huge flight of steps in our old house, and then popped up and ran outside to join the boys playing in the mud in the yard.
I saw the girl who jumped off her top bunk, ripped her knee wide open and ended up with a huge smiley face stitched under her kneecap.
I see the girl who held her sister down in a chokehold after seeing her wearing your pants not TOO long ago.
But you know what the camera saw?
A beautiful young woman about to embark on the greatest adventure of all: her life.
May the angels travel with you; I know my heart will.
(My Crystal Light Water update...I am driving Bitchy insane...)
84 comments:
I wonder if Sassy will let you post a pic for us? So fabulous seeing your hard work pay off as she grows into a wonderful adult.
It's still amazing to me that I turned around and the pudgy, curly-headed toddler (who WAS "just like me only shorter") has become a lean, mean, 6-foot-3 young man who is now "just like me only taller!"
*sniff*
It makes my heart grow with pride and shed a tear when I see how my children have grown. That is until they something really pissy and I just get frustrated.
That's what happens when you take your eyes off them for just a minute. They grow up so quickly don't they? :)
It all passes by so quickly...
now as I watch my daughter's daughters play, I am blessed to relive those moments once again...this time I simply sit back and enjoy!
How blessed you are!
~AM
Words to cherish...
Some days, they seem to grow up so fast. Other days, not so much!
with none of my own, i have to live vicariously through my brother and sister, and to see my little pudgy angel boy, who is now 18....with size 14 feet...has been amazing! hope we get to see the pictures!!
A warning would have been nice, thank you very much. Now I need to go clean up my tear stained face!
Such a beautiful post. My baby is only 10 and I can't believe how fast they change!!
that was awesome...brought a flutter to my heart at my boys growing older through your post. they are off to grammas for the week so T and I get some fun time...
What a beautiful love letter to your daughter! Seriously, my heart swelled!
S
File this under sad but true:
No matter how long you keep naked Barbie in the fridge, her nipples will not perk up.
I love this. And having gotten to see a few of them, she's a heart breaker!
xoxo
Don't you hate when they grow up?! Mine is only one but still, I just freakin' had him, I don't know what I'll do when I see his senior pictures. Maybe ground him?
I love your posts! They are really witty and cute! This one was wonderful too! So this is how you feel when your young'uns grow up?!
Chaitra
Sigh. That was so lovely. It's weird that they grow up.
take your time.. catch it slow because time flies by..
gotta know why she kept her babies in the fridge
It's both incredibly exciting and horribly frightening to watch our daughter's emerge as young women, isn't it?
You've taken my breath away with this post. There are tears from being touched by such wonderful words.
My 7-year-old is wondering why I felt the sudden urge to leave the computer and go love on her for awhile. Thanks, Vodkamom!
I know how you feel..and it never ends.
thanks for the reminder.
xx
You're such a great mom. xxoo
What a beautiful post! Now put Sassy on so we can bug her to see a Senior Pic, too!!
Awww... that was sweet. It reminds me of a "Zits" comic strip that I cut out and now has a permanet spot on our fridge to remiond me. (It is the 12.18.2005 strip if anyone wants to look it up.) In it, the mom "unzips" her teen son and removes the toddler-Jeremy from inside, then they play games, bake cookies, laugh, etc. It reminds me not to take my time for granted, that my own little boys will soon be unholdable, too cool for kisses and hugs, and too big to carry. Sigh.
And so the big fight was over pants, huh?
I'm still trying to figure out how to make mine stop growing up. No success so far, they just seem to keep growing up no matter what I do.
I'll let you know if I ever figure it out. Hope you'll do the same for me.
I've been looking through all the pictures of my five year old over the last few days in preparation of a slide show for her first day of kindergarten. While I don't have quiet as many memories as you, I know the ache in your heart. But it's a wonderful ache, isn't it?
That was beautiful! What a lovely way to honor your daughter's rite of passage into becoming a lady.
It really is amazing how fast they grow up. Someday I hope my maturity level catches up to my son's.
You always know what to say to tug at someones heart strings!
You'll be home soon and this will all disappear. Just saying. Bwahahahahaha.
Have a terrific day. Big hug. :)
Wow I could have written this post, well if I was as good at writing as you are. My daughter just had senior pics taken this past week and I too just stood there and marveled at what a beautiful girl she had become. For the first time I saw the 18 year old that she will shortly be. I told my husband for the first time she looked like a senior and not our baby.
I'm so happy for you! It's so nice getting great portraits done, isn't it?
That's beautiful. Can you adopt me?
Beautiful words, VodkaMom.
Naked Barbies in the fridge? That's a new one.
At our house the Barbies were tied up and thrown in the hamper. I don't want to think where that will lead.
Anyway, do YOU know why they insist on taking senior pictures so early - before the kids are even seniors? I don't get it.
Naked barbies in the fridge! Sassy is sassy!
You see how that they do that?
They're one minute away from being sent on an all expenses paid trip to the moon via the tip of your shoe... and then they go and do something like that...every time.
It works, though.
Peace - Rene
It's amazing what happens, isn't it? My daughter was here with her family this past wekend, and the week before we visited my son and his family in California. In a couple of weeks we'll be going up to New Hampshire to visit my oldest son and his family. I love seing them as adults and as good parents. But I still see the child in each one of them. It makes me smile, most of the time. That was a nice tribute to your daughter.
This is so beautiful! I imagine your daughter is, too. How in heaven do they get from babies to amazing people with amazing futures ahead of them so dang fast?!
Sounds like your daughter is well on her way with a Mom who is so caring!
I try to pay attention closer, closer, because I know this time is SO FAST, and Lola will be getting her senior pictures done and I will be thinking of her naked barbies in the fridge.
Lovely post. Isn't it unbelievable
how, in the blink of an eye, you see the transformation to adulthood. Bittersweet.
And it is a moment you will remember forever.
I'm personally glad my kids are out of the stage of ripping knees open and swallowing glow lights.
It's always a surprise when you realize they have actually grown up. Sad, beautiful, wonderful- all at the same time. Kids: you gotta love 'em
Nice post
That's beautiful. It's amazing how fast they grow up.
xo
I guess we moms clean up pretty nice once in a while. . .
Aww. You have the greatest knack for capturing details that remind me why motherhood is worth it.
Best wishes to your burgeoning swan.
This is beautiful - *smiling*
Oh how they grow up so, so very fast, in the blink of an eye!
It is so beautiful to watch them turn into swans...I know your heart is swollen with pride.
Way to GO Mom! I wish the absolute best in the world for Sassy!
Aw.
She's off to a new stage or her life and so are you! :)
She's off to a new stage or her life and so are you! :)
Makes it all worth while, doesn't it?
Now is her time. It's so nice to see when they actually come into their own.
This was absolutely gorgeous.
This was very sweet. It made me smile. But it also made me think about my two year old daughter who will walk up to me, throw her arms around my knees and say, "Mommy - I love you sooooo much!" and think, "I'm not ready - don't grow up so fast."
I still get teary eyed when I look at my eldest daughter's senior pics. She leaves in 18 days. I think my heart will stop beating that day.
Durn...the same thing happened to me...but only in reverse.
I'm following you, you big Twit!
That was really lovely!
Hey here's a question for you what is happening with your book? Especially now you have over 1000 followers.
This is lovely.
Oh, I know that feeling all too well. I got it when I took photos of my kids a few weeks back. It's just...wrong...that they grow so quickly and become these glorious people when we're still seeing them as babies.
Hugs!
You gotta love a girl who keeps you on your toes.--Jenn
Pictures don't lie...maybe deep down she not so Sassy after all.
"A beautiful young woman about to embark on the greatest adventure of all: her life."
Oh, Vodka Mom. You aren't so tough after all. What a special moment for both of you.
Sob.
I am newly pregnant and can't wait for moments like this someday. :) Thanks for sharing.
Great post: and I'm right there too. My son's senior pics will be taken at the end of next month...sigh....
Morning Vodka.. they sure grow up fast. Almost scary fast, but once they do they become your best friend for life. An amazing transformation. *smiles*
Also, take note that The Blue Ridge Gal has made some changes and my blog is now known as Snappy Finger. Come see when you have time!
Di
Snappy
http://snappyfinger.blogspot.com/
sniff. And I'm only on my first cup of coffee.
Naked Barbies in the fridge? Was that an appetizer or a main dish?
Now that just plain moved me to tears.
Beautiful. Make sure you print it and put it in the place where you save things for her. Stuff like this is what it is all about.
This deserves a standing ovation! Well done, Vodkamom! You always amaze me with your ability to make me laugh AND cry at the same time.
Also, my therapist thinks I'm turning schizo, I'm sending you the bill. J/K! :P
This is beautiful! It made me tear up. You always have the most eloquent way of regaling us with your experiences and thoughts. It is very touching!
And I saw a beautiful woman whose heart was made from her mother's love, whose smile was the result of the love she'd grown up with, and a certainty that was born from the security she's felt all her life....
I love this post!!!! Perfect!!!! I'm dealing with my only child leaving for college next week and although this made me tear up, I'm so glad I came across it!
Shit.
This made me sniffle.
Dammit. You made me cry.
I loved the title as soon as I saw it, but I love the post even more. I feel this way, and my daughter is only 2. The days just fly by.
(I sat next to you in the Blog to Book session at BlogHer. It's nice to finally stop by your blog.)
you made me tear up! where is she going? college? omg I can't deal with that thought.
Making me cry at work, dammit!!
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