I always get a chuckle when I read Facebook posts of how my friends can't believe their child has turned 6 or 7 or 8 or 10....you get the picture. Up until this point I have resisted the urge to type; "Really? Its hard to believe they turned 8? They were 7 last year. What's hard to believe? Now if they were 7 and turned 10, that would be unbelievable!"
The ages don't get me, the events do. I don't usually get caught off guard. In fact, I can only think of three times so far where I have thought to myself...."I can't believe this."
A few years ago, it hit me. My daughter is getting old, I am getting old, and I couldn't believe what I was doing. I was headed home form work and got the call no guy ever wants to get. I had to make THE purchase. Living with 6 women, it was inevitable. I am quite proud of myself for putting it off as long as I did. Laura was not able to make it to the store, and called me for help. I blanked out after she told me what my mission was, and all I could remember was "pink on the box". Stunned I was at the point where I needed to buy this item for one of my girls, I wandered the isles of Meijer looking for items I can purchase that will hide the box with pink on it from the outside world. Finally, I was ready to go grab the box, throw it in the cart, and make a B-line to the check out lane. My plan for quickness failed for one main reason. EVERY BOX HAS PINK ON IT!! I was stuck. Do I get light, the one with wings, sport. I found myself wondering what it all meant, and quickly discovered I didn't want to know. Forget comfort zone, I was out of my comfort galaxy. I didn't know how to ask for help. I didn't want to ask for help. I did know I had to come home with something. I had a 1 in 352 chance of picking the right pink box. Then, a woman in a red shirt asked, "Can I help you?" With a sigh of relief, I explained my dilemma, the details of my daughter, and I think I mentioned Pink Box. Without hesitation, she walked over and grabbed what I needed and made my trip a success. As I was checking out, I grabbed the pink box and it hit me. As the shoes in my life are getting bigger, the boxes are getting smaller. My girl isn't little anymore. Our relationship was going to change. Scrap that, it has changed. I used to buy big boxes full of diapers, and I was good with that. This smaller pink box intimidates me.
This past fall, I was stopped again. Life was moving at a rapid pace. I hadn't had to buy or think about pink boxes, which was great. Lyz was taking drivers training, and we were all excited about it. It is going to be great to have another driver in the house. School season was in full swing, and we were all buckling down for our fall schedules. I wasn't prepared for the question that was weeks in the making. We were heading out the door, and Lyz looked at me and asked "Dad, can I drive?" I just looked at my keys which seemed like 4 hours (in reality 15 seconds at the most). How can she be old enough to drive? She was just falling off a bike last week (again reality...... 9 years ago). That ride across town was difficult. Not because she took a turn at 45 MPH and I thought I was going to die, but because she isn't little anymore. She's driving. That question made her independence a reality. She is starting to need me less, and I have to let go more.
This all brings me to the day I was stopped in my tracks. Basketball season has us going every night of the week, Saturday mornings, and Sunday nights. As I was passing through the kitchen, I saw a stack of letters. They were all made out to Alyzabeth Compton. As I looked through who they were from it took me 5 letters for it to hit me. Cornerstone, Calvin, Ferris State........They were from colleges!!! Tracks stopped. As I looked at all these schools that are interested in my daughter I realized that my time is almost up. I have two years left. You talk about a sobering "I can't believe it", I want to not believe she is 6 or 7 or 8 or even 10.
Her shoes are about as big as they are going to get, and my time for seeing them laying around the house is rapidly coming to an end. I have to start believing it and make the most of the time I have left. Dates with her are extra special now, hugs after tough games will be a little longer, and I will have to take advantage of every teaching moment I have left.
So enjoy the 6 and 7 and 8 and 10 and even little pink boxes.
