Grateful

My daughter shocked me on Sunday. We went to noon mass at church and by the time we got home we only had an hour before we were going over to my dad's for Easter Dinner. My daughter was in a dress we got her last fall. I gave her permission to change into khaki pants and a nice top as it would be pretty casual at my dad's. Well, she kept putting off changing. I didn't get it at all. Super Girl NEVER likes to be in a dress. Her dress was super cute, but still -- she NEVER likes to stay dressed up. That is until Sunday. I nagged and nagged and finally said, "Okay, stay in that." She tried to hide her smile, BUT I SAW IT!

Little Miss "No Red Tent for Me" was basking in her own sassy feminine glory! The dress was conservative in cut but slightly sassy in fabric (picture a brown sweater set attached to a cute brown and cream zebra print skirt). As they say on What Not To Wear, it was a modern take on a classic. She did were it well. I know it might sound tacky due to the print, but it wasn't. She was cute as all get out in the dress. I think she realized it and LIKED IT!

I promised to back her if she blamed the dress on me and said that I MADE her wear it. She went to grandpa's and even sat with her 12 year old legs together. Who was the little girl becoming more of a young lady right before my eyes?

It is strange to sit and watch the hints at transformation and increased maturity. She is still her athletic self. She still revels in being sweaty, and yet she is blossoming... quietly on the sly she is blossoming. There is still no red tent for her... we just will have to let her sneak quietly into femininity. Please, no fanfare.

My siblings (I have 3) all have babies and I have tweens. My one brother has an 11 year old, a 3 year old, and a baby on the way. It is fun to have my siblings notice how my kids talk to them without prompting. My kids greet their aunts and uncles and have conversations about mutual likes and dislikes. They are not afraid to share their opinions while considering the opinions of others. My babies are people with opinions who reach out to their aunts and uncles with unprompted hugs and salutations.

The toddler routine of the hug goodbye seems to have yielded a foundation for affection that continues into the tweens. I am so proud of them. They are warm, loving, and welcoming. The new aunts and uncles by marriage have been welcomed into the family over the last few years with open arms. The new cousins have been celebrated. I feel blessed and am grateful.

My goodness! I appreciate the gift I have been given in my children, but I admit it is nice to hear the appreciation for them from my siblings. Suddenly they have a deeper appreciation for Super Girl and Wonder Boy now that they have their own children. How nice. It warms me. I pray this continues through the teen years. I hope and pray our foundation is strong. For now, I will count and appreciate this blessings!

Oh -- I forgot to mention our silly little Easter egg tradition. When I was a kid my dad always tried to make make one egg the most special of all the decorated eggs. Each year he would dip this egg into various colors for various lengths of time. Some years he would start with yellow, some year he would start the cycle with red. You never knew what different angle he would take in trying to achieve his ultimage goal -- a egg colored BLACK! No matter how hard he tried, the best he got was dark blue, ugly grey, or a form of purple.

Fast forward to the last 10 years as I've decorated eggs with and for my kids. j I have continued the tradition. We fail every year but still enjoy trying. In the picture in my previous post there are some DARK eggs. Nowhere near black, but we got them pretty dark. I almost went and got paint to achieve the ultimate goal for the centerpiece I brought to Dad's house. Then I realized that it would be wrong. The fun isn't in getting a black egg. The fun is in being the mad scientists who TRY to achieve the black egg. My scientists and I had a TON of fun. And that is my story of the black egg.

Tomorrow will be 3 years since cancer took my Mom. I miss her. I am grateful for the memories and that she was my Mom. I still am grateful that I was blessed to have her even though I could only have her for a shorter time. Most people don't have a mother as great as the one I had -- having greatness for a short time was a blessing. I will never stop missing her. I'm glad Easter week is over. Losing her during that week was agony and as I've said, I relate her passing more to Holy Week than to the date on the calendar. But tomorrow is that date on the calendar... I will count my blessings and be grateful -- I had the best mom!