My friends all started having kids at the same time, give or take a couple of years. I remember about five years ago, when the older group's kids were hitting baptism age. Eight years old? I thought. How have your kids gotten so old?
Then Paige turned eight. But that didn't seem so old—especially those other guys' kids were now 10. Ten. Now that's old!
But now Paige is 10 and I'm trying to figure out where the time has gone.
I still remember the night before there was a Paige. Traci left the bed because her contractions were hurting so bad that she couldn't sleep. A few minutes later, I asked how close the contractions were.
"Still about five minutes apart," she said.
We had gone to five sessions of birthing classes. It was so gross that I pretty much kept my eyes close the entire time. But I had listened enough to know that five minutes meant it was time to go.
We packed up the bag and headed to the hospital. By the next night we were parents. A few days after that, we were headed back home with a tiny little body in a brand new car seat. I drove slower and more carefully than I ever had before. I'm not sure how Traci felt, but I was scared to death.
And, just like that, it's 10 years later.
She loves to perform. Whether it's acting in her Up With Kids performances or singing solos in sacrament meeting, I am amazed by her fearlessness. Especially from a girl who started out so shy that she didn't let go of my leg for the first three years of her life.
And she's got a big heart. She's always worrying about her friends' feelings and making sure that everyone is included. And lately she's also been really good about entertaining a four-year-old brother who can never get enough entertainment.
A decade. Paige has been a part of our lives for a complete decade. We're pretty lucky.
2 comments:
She is beautiful! It is hard to believe you have a 10-year-old. :)
Thanks for sharing this post—it turns out you make a pretty fantastic dad, too!
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