Wednesday, April 26, 2006

I blinked . .

I knew I wasn't imagining things. I look at Anna lately and wonder when in the world this happened. When did she turn into a young lady? When did the little girl disappear?
I can tell you it was in between ages 9 and 10. The picture on the left is exactly a year ago, the end of April 2005. Still looks like a little girl, right? The one on the right was from a couple of weeks ago (the same one I posted with the Easter pics). Little girl now? No. I kept thinking she had changed so much in the past year, but I never went back and looked at pictures to compare. When I did last night, I was stunned at the differences. The shape of her body, even the look of her face has evolved from being childlike to more womanly.

I must admit, it scares me a little. This means dealing very soon, with issues such as the start of her period, dating, and yikes, talks about sex.

It started to depress me somewhat, until I thought about it in a different light. I started to see that hopefully, Anna will be my future best friend. Someone to share with me, what my mom and I have shared for years. A friendship that compares to no other. Someone who knows and understands me in an intimate way. Someone I can always count on no matter what. I suddenly felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

20 comments:

chesneygirl said...

What a precious post Renee!!

Wow, she HAS changed so much! She is beautiful and you will soon have to be beating the boys off of her!

A mother-daughter bond is very special. My mom is definately one of my best friends that compares to no other.

Greta Adams said...

Wow isn't it amazing to look at past pics and compare? SHe is such a beautiful girl and BTW i started my period in 3rd grade so you might want to have that talk just incase...my mother didn't and I didn't know what the hell was going on

Anonymous said...

I love this post. Anna is beautiful and what you wrote about her being your future best friend really touched my heart. I hope to have a close relationship with my two girls forever and always. You and your mom are so lucky to have each other! Moms are the best.

Michelle said...

Anna is beautiful with all that dark hair. From this point on it does go by fast, but believe me, the older daughter experience is even better than childhood daughter. Enjoy her.

Michelle said...

HA, I think we were commenting on each other's blogs at exactly the same time. :)

Michelle said...

Yep, it was. Look at the time stamp.

tara said...

gosh! what a beautiful way to describe your mother/daughter bond! man, i want a girl!! :)
she really has blossomed from the earlier photo. she really is a beauty! yes, sounds like scary talks ahead. you'll do fine, just speak from your heart! -tara

Lala's world said...

it's amazing what a year does!! like the difference between my grade 7 and grade 8 pic's look like 2 different people...I think I gained like 15 pounds that year!

I totally want that friendship with my girls too...I also have it with my mom and I dream of having it with them too!!

Mise en Place said...

A year can make a world of difference, huh?

Yes, I see it as being very lucky too. But, not to make you feel any worse....by the looks of your budding beauty, you are going to have your hands FULL! lol!

Nicki said...

Wow! She really has changed quite a bit in the last year. This is one of those times when the responsibility of parenting can be a little overwhelming, isn't it?

I pray that I'll have that close bond with my girls when they are older too.

MarkD60 said...

You should hook up with K, (http://khatina.blogspot.com/) she's talking about the same thing with a 1 year old!

DebbieDoesLife said...

She is quite beautiful!! You are very lucky to have a daughter.

JeepGirl said...

If I have to lose mine to "young ladyhood" than you should have to too.
Yes, I'm sorry but she does look more like a young lady in the present picture. I pretty young lady too !!
My husband has already banned our daughter from going to the prom. Even tho she won't be going for a couple more years.
It's scary, having your little girl turn into a young lady. For me anyhow.

Laurie said...

God, she's beautiful!

Julie Marsh said...

I saw the same thing happen between toddlerhood and true little girlhood with Tacy. It happened seemingly overnight, and I was not prepared.

Anna is beautiful, inside and out. You will do a wonderful job of guiding her through the upcoming hurdles, I'm sure of it.

Krisco said...

Wow, that is amazing. And at 10! Holy guacamole.

In addition to being your best friend, she looks like she will be a beautiful young woman too.

Not that that's the most important thing....but that's nice for her.

4evergapeach said...

My, she really has changed and blossomed! She really is beautiful!

My daughter did the same thing. In fact she has blossomed so much now, she is a bra cup size larger than me! AGH! She now has a boyfriend and I have to keep a close eye on those two!!! Where did our little girls go? I would take the worries of childhood over teens any day! Good luck!

Anonymous said...

My golly, that sure happened fast! You have a beautiful attitude about it all ;)

Trish said...

You have a beautiful daughter. But yeah, I don't envy the talks you'll be required to have soon, and dealing with the drama of female teen interpersonal relationships.

Cindy N. said...

As you should. I told you years ago, that I always thought you were one of the best mothers and I still think that. This post proves it.