That time of year
So many things have changed since my last entry that it's hard to know where to begin.
My daughter celebrated her first birthday on December 10 and it is so amazing how fast the time has passed. People have often told my wife and I to enjoy these times because before you know it they are gone. I didn't always believe it but now I can say with certainty that the first year of my daughter's life has gone by in the blink of an eye. It seems like it was just weeks ago when I watched her first come into our world yet now she has become our world. My wife often tells our daughter how happy it made us that she chose us to be her parents. At first that statement didn't really sink in with me but over time I have come to appreciate it more. That expression has come to symbolize to me how our daughter has changed our lives. Nothing is solely about my wife and I anymore, everything is about our daughter. That is an amazing statement for me to make and it says how far along this journey we all have come in this first year.
Each day with her has been a treasure that I hope to never lose. As my paternity leave comes to an end and I have to rejoin the work force I am both sad and happy. I will miss being with my daughter everyday, all day but I will also have someone else amazing and exciting to look forward to when I get home from work. Adult conversation occasionally will be nice but I will miss not being here to watch my daughter discover that cats can be fluffy and scratchy. She has learned so much in this first year and my wife and I have been with her every step of the way. Now she will experience daycare for the first time and all the pitfalls and possible highlights that come along with it. She will begin to learn how to socialize with others out of sight of mom and dad and this scares me. My daughter is one of the happiest little creatures that I have ever seen. She is always smiling, waving to people, and trying to enjoy her life. I don't want her to change, her happiness makes me happy and when she is sad so am I.
All of this is just the natural course of getting growing. Life is nothing without change, I just hope my daughter can keep her wonder and amazement about life as she experiences more and more of it.
I hope you have a truly wonderful, and magical Christmas.
How wonderful to hear your
How wonderful to hear your voice again! You bring back such memories for me of when my own children were changing my life. I am who I am today because of them. They saved me; helped me grow up; helped me see there is so much more to the world then my silly needs and expectations. And all they had to do was enjoy themselves. The world does crowd in and there will be challenges, but you have built a strong, secure foundation.
Have a beautiful Holiday!
It's good to hear from you, do drop in more often if you can.
It does fly, the time---my kids are grown but the images from their early childhoods are vivid as yesterday. I will be taking a train to NYC to have a wonderful whirlwind day with my daughter in NYC the day after Christmas, when I told her her presents were running late she said "Just you coming down for the day to hang out with me is enough for me."; so, you see, the treasured moments keep coming.
The first real losses, the first pains of betrayal and hurt are the toughest...although it happens to all human beings, we feel it really just shouldn't happen to our children. Just know she will be strong with your love and use what she learns to grow and grow up. Treasure all the small stuff, it is soooo BIG.