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| Give, 2011 Sumi ink and gouache on arches text |
WOW! It's been a while since my last post. The summer has been flying by as I prepare to bring my younger daughter out to Indiana to start her freshman year at the University of Notre Dame. The process of preparation has been emotional, arduous and bittersweet to say the least.
But the car is almost packed with assorted essentials, sheets, blanket, comforter (all extra long! What a pain...) Also rug, desk lamp, electric kettle (for tea time of course!), bathrobe, flip flops, towels, bath caddy (who knew about bath caddies?), bike and helmet (please, God, make her wear it!) and clothes. I've never seen so many clothes! Where has she been hiding them? I hope there'll be room for mine and my husband's sorry excuse for a vacation wardrobe. No new stuff for us. We've got tuition to pay, but that's life during the college years.
Life during the college years... that reminds me of the song by the Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime", and the lyrics...
"This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around
No time for dancing, or lovey dovey, I ain't got time for that now..."
You're probably wondering what I'm getting at, so I'll try to explain. Eighteen years ago we brought this beautiful sweet girl into the world, a baby sister for our older daughter. Born on December 22nd she was our most amazing Christmas gift and we couldn't have been happier. And from that moment on we gave everything we had for these two incredible little people who we've watched grow and blossom. Nothing mattered more than giving. No more parties, except the ones with homemade cake and party hats. No more nights out dancing (unless it involved father-daughter dances). No more lovey-dovey (well, you get the gist on that).
Yes, vanity also went by the wayside as we gave ourselves. Fancy clothes and hair appointments were given up for bank accounts, because time was moving fast, they just kept growing and college was sneaking up on us. But it wasn't just money we gave without question. We gave time, attention, little bits of wisdom (not always accepted, but worth a try), patience (lots of it!), driving lessons (eeekk!) and of course, LOVE. There was tough love, big love (not the HBO show, though I'm sure my husband would have loved having an extra wife or two...) and when we thought there couldn't be anymore, we found even more love.
And here we are, August, 2012, car packed to the roof as we bring her to the next step in her life. It's the hardest gift we can give, her independence. She's our gift to the world.
We may want her back every now and then, but for now, she's yours. Enjoy her presence, because we surely have. And as the saying goes, "her presence is present enough".
You'll have to excuse me now, because I'm tearing for the 5th time today. But sometimes the best gifts are the ones that make you cry.
Thanks for looking,
Claire
