life stages

I pulled into the driveway yesterday afternoon, and as usual Sara and her "students" are playing school. Whenever she's outside, she always comes over to my car door and welcomes me home with a kiss. She then says, "Daddy, look!" and she's waving some oddly-shaped piece of paper in front of me. It's an invitation to a Halloween party Friday night. And, it's from SPENCER! Apparently, Spencer hand-delivered the invitation yesterday afternoon. This is the Spencer from kindergarten, the Spencer who's been "THE boy" for almost five years now. Oh, sure, there have been others, but it's mainly been Spencer. And remember, Sara is still 9.

Later that night, the bride, Meg and I watched a video of Meg when she was about 16-18 months old. She danced in part of the video. In another part, I tried (in vain) to get her dressed after a bath. This used to be a game we played, where she would run back and forth in her bed, avoiding me while I attempted to put her pj's on. Then there was the part of the tape where I sang to her, trying to get her to sleep, walking her back and forth, until she finally laid her head on my shoulder. Now she spends the majority of her time with a phone on her own shoulder.

The bride and I have been blessed with two healthy, happy, well-adjusted daughters. Looking back at yesterday, it's interesting to see the differences in both girls. Sara's still not embarrassed about kissing her daddy in front of her friends; Meg would rather I not talk to her around her friends. I know they both love me, but they show it in different ways. Sara's always been more demonstrative, and I know that will change eventually. Meg used to be affectionate towards me, but it changed, too. (For her own benefit, I usually shield my face whenever I see her at church.) It's all a part of growing up and growing older.

Part of me wants both of them to stay in that cuddly 18-month-old stage. However, as I've said before, their growth and maturing will just allow for me to be cuddly with the bride more often. And that's a good thing.....so here's to that stage - may it continue for the next 50 or so years.....