Learning to Pump

It seems that the milestones just keep flying by, now that Kendall is getting older. I remember sitting around when she was a baby, waiting patiently for her to do anything. The baby lump stage was so boring ... just watching her lie there and sleep. Then she got older and learned how to stay awake for longer periods of time. That was when I had to learn how to entertain her. Then she started smiling and giggling and playing. Then crawling, talking, and walking. Then coloring and painting. All of this in a span of 2 years that felt like it was creeping at the time, but now, looking back, flew!!

So now, here we are at 4 years old. Almost 4 1/2, she keeps reminding me. What can she do now that's different from then? Kendall can say, identify, and tell you the sounds for all of the alphabet letters. She can count to 50. She can count to 20, say hello, goodbye, and thank you in Spanish. She can color inside the lines. She can cut with a knife and scissors. She can ride a bike with training wheels and do somersaults. She knows first position in ballet. She can dress herself and brush her own hair. And yesterday, after months of trying, she finally mastered swinging by herself.

I know. Some of you are thinking, "Well, that's something, but hardly a milestone." I beg to differ. And any parent who has encountered countless hours at the playground pushing a swing will agree with me. In the summer, Tim built this glorious playset in our back yard. I was so excited about it. I envisioned warm summer days playing with the kids and cool, breezy afternoons swinging away while Daddy grilled on the back porch. In all of my daydreams, I never saw myself having to push BOTH kids on the swings. How have my arms gotten so tone? That's the secret. Pushing 2 kids, simultaneously, on the swingset. But yesterday, after watching as our neighborhood girls hoisted themselves up on the swings and pumped their legs, Kendall figured it out.

And she was so proud of herself! Pumping those legs, rising higher and higher into the air!! And now we can have those moments I've been waiting for. Kendall can swing by herself with me watching from the porch, reading a magazine and drinking a beer. I no longer have to go with her every time she wants to play ... and she and the neighborhood girls can have "girl time" without my encroaching presence.

So what's next? I see many things in our future ... but with all of her achievements, I know Kendall is moving further away from being my baby girl. I try to hold on as much as I can to what she used to be ... but I also want her to grow up and be independent and strong. It's so hard to watch her grow and not need me anymore. But for the time being, I know I have to let her feel her way along, learning from her friends and her family. She can't learn it all from me because, Lord knows I don't' know it all!