Ugh. That old cliché…

They grow up so fast.

What a horrible, horrible cliché… one that I half-hoped I would never find myself using. 

As a kid, I hated hearing my parents say those words, because as a kid I just couldn’t grow up fast enough. 

Sure, adults often say age is just a number.  But to kids age is a barrier, to all the things they want to do that their parents just don’t feel they are ready for. 

• You can eat candy when you’re 5.
• You can go on a sleepover when you’re 7.
• You can go to your first boy/girl party when you’re 10. 
• You can go to the mall alone when you’re 14.
• You can drive when you’re 16.
• You can drink when you’re 19.
• You can NEVER drink and drive.
• You can rent a car when you’re 21. 
• You can date when you’re 50.

Now that I am a parent, I get it.  I understand that the cliché isn’t a cliché at all, but a statement of fact.  Every day Pea does something new, unexpected and amazing and I already find myself wondering where the hell the time has gone. 

I remember a friend telling me that the first time you get a hug from your kid with purpose, one that isn’t solicited, one that is genuine, you will melt into the floor.

I thought that day would never come.  Well, it has.  And he was right. 

But we’re well beyond purposeful hugs now.  Last night, when I picked Pea up after work, she had a five minute ‘phone’ conversation with her Mom on her Fisher-Price cell.  She started with the customary “Hello”, and proceeded to talk, pause, talk, pause, laugh, pause, laugh, tell her we were in the car, tell her she loves her and ultimately, say “Bye.”  

At this point in her life, Pea is too young to understand (and detest) the aforementioned cliché.  Right now, she’s focused on learning and applying new skills at breakneck speed and, inadvertantly, making her Dad feel like his little girl is already slipping away.

“I do” is now a regular part of her vocabulary, and while I know this is a great thing, part of me wants to go back to the days where she needed to be swaddled to go to sleep.

Because back then, she was still my little girl.  Now she’s my big little girl.  And there’s a big difference between the two.