Marmalade Photography

The flurry of activity surrounding the second week in February always never fails to astound me. First the 11th. My husband and I just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. Fifteen years, I can hardly imagine it, cannot count them without sheer surprise that it’s been 15! On the 11th (Monday) I came downstairs in the morning to get the kids ready for school to find a bouquet of my favorite flowers with a wonderfully penned card addressed to yours truly. I have the most romantic husband in the world. This I know is true.

Then the following day, the 12th. Also known as Honest Abe’s bday, also happens to be my dad’s bday. He celebrated #86! I am so fortunate to have such a great dad, a dad who is slowing down with the passage of time. In this past year he’s been diagnosed with a debilitating neurological disorder but he is still mostly himself, I cherish every moment I still have him here. I feel blessed and know that I am lucky to have had such a wonderful relationship with my parents, pretty much ongoing. I’m doubly blessed to have parents that love and support me and my crazy undertakings. I am triply blessed to have those same parents be able to share the joy that is my beautiful little girls…the mere presence of my parents being able to witness their granddaughters’ growth has been an eyeopener for me. It has opened my eyes to what my parents have known all along…children grow up much too quickly. I see that knowledge in my father’s aged eyes. I see what he has seen all along…babies don’t stay babies and little girls become women much too quickly.

The reprieve of emotion comes on the 13th only to follow with Valentine’s Day on the 14th. By this point, I’m pooped. Celebrated out. Frankly, having to lug myself to both my children’s celebratory class time for Valentine’s Day party-dom is almost too much for me. But today I trudged through it and saw, as my father sees, my little girls growing up. My oldest claims she doesn’t like any boys in her class but I saw the look she and her best friend K gave one another, as if they were in on some conspiracy together when adorable “R” passed them in the hallway. My younger child, who’s heart belongs to only “J” smiles every time you mention his name….he does that show off-y boy thing boys do when they like a little girl when he’s around her so at least her crush is reciprocated. She truly is lucky in love, I suspect, because the class goof also has a crush on her-it’s so apparent just by the manner that he goes out of his way to stand next to her or find a way to talk to her. Ahhhh, young love.

Grade school crushes are a rite of passage. The mere mention of this discussion, however, sends my husband straight to shutting off his ears, doesn’t want-to-hear-it-land, “LA LA LA LA!” 🙂 Nonetheless it is true, it is happening. Soon enough Valentine’s Day will turn away from exchanging sweet Valentine cards in class to being given a roses (or other flowers) by their respective high school sweethearts and then later to receive heart shaped (sorta) cut outs from their own children MUCH MUCH further down the line. I wonder if I will look at my grandchildren much the same way my father looks at my children? With the knowledge that the passage of time goes much too quickly and that those little ones only stay little for mere seconds.  I’m tearing up just thinking about.

So there’s my Hallmark thought for today.  Happy Valentine’s (belated or otherwise) Day to you & yours.

xoxo, Mare