Taking down the swing set.

My knight and I took the girls' swing set down last night. All the while I couldn't help realizing that this means the end of an era. They no longer use it, there are other activities now replacing their "little-kid" games. Things are changing at the Pillar household. The years have flown by so quickly that my heart is having an incredibly hard time keeping up! I absolutely loved having babies; watching their every step of progress and sewing each and every dress was a labor of, not only love, but celebration of being the mom of two beautiful daughters.

So here I am jotting down my feelings about these transition years. All three of our children are different and their transition from childhood to adulthood unique. So much so that our parental preparation takes some adjustment.

Our son, who will be celebrating his 3rd wedding anniversary in August, was always a loving little boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. School was not his forte, but all his teachers just loved him. He went into his teen years without too much difficulty and it wasn't until he turned 18 that he began to be more independent. He never minded me stopping by at his first job, Cost Plus World Market, just to watch him work. I think my knight would say the hardest part of raising him was keeping him in shoes and cars!

Each of our daughters are different all together. Both are amazingly book smart and musically talented. They are blessed with so much creativity and brains.  The oldest is a "doctor doolittle" of sorts, following her daddy's footsteps into the care of animals.  The youngest has a knack for the ivory keys and her nose in a book.

Having three children gives each of them their own special place in the family, from being the first and only son, to being the first and oldest daughter to being the last child and baby, they each know how much they are loved. As the years roll by and these wonderful charges grow, blossom, and succeed, their father and I feel the change in the winds. 

There are things we need to keep saying to them even though they are grown or growing up.  There are things we need to keep doing for them, like praying daily. We need to keep encouraging them to develop an independent prayer life, to depend on God, not their own efforts; keeping their eye on the Lord for guidance and support.  Parenting doesn't stop, it just gets tweeked with the ages.

With all these changes comes one very important fact of life for my knight and I:  no matter how old and/or far away our children are, we will always be their parents and  loving and giving them support as needed.  I can live with that and it does give me comfort, especially when I get a call from our son in the middle of the day and all he wanted was to "hear your voice, Mom."