There is no slowing it down.
And truly, I don't think I would if I could.
Because it's your time. Not mine.
And in the blink of an eye you'll be done.
Grown.
Gone.
I had my turn, and I remember how very slow it seemed.
Like I was never quite big enough, old enough, capable enough.
And then suddenly I was grown.
You will be too some soon day.
And to you it will feel like forever, and to me it will be but an instant that I replay in my mind before sleep.
Among the sweetest days.
Ordinary days spent together - laughing, reading, being.
As you grow.
Today we step outside to take your picture. Like every fall.
You slip into these adult-sized jackets, and suddenly I see you.
Growing up.
You are different from last year.
Your helpfulness. Your willingness. Your humor.
I see how your cheek bones have changed your face.
How your adult teeth reshape you into a near adolescent.
How at ease you are in your own skin.
I see you growing up before my eyes.
You're bigger.
You're older.
You're more capable in every way than you were just a year before.
And soon these young smiles and laughs will be just memories, dwelling inside of my heart.
Today will be what was.
And I will savor these memories forever.
I see you.
Growing up in an instant. Before my eyes.
You can see most of our series of annual photographs here.
