Kim Wilbanks

Babies Grow Up Way Too Fast

It was a Wednesday afternoon in late June when they placed the sleepy baby girl in my arms.  A daughter! We had a sweet baby daughter.  She was a lovely addition to our family with her shock of dark hair with a mind of its own and her already evident independent streak.

I blinked once, maybe twice and she was a grown woman. 

Of course, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but, seriously, where did the time go?  That sweet baby girl  just turned twenty-nine.  She’s just begun her last year in her twenties.  Next year — the first of the “big ones”. 

My baby just turned twenty-nine and it’s making me feel very old.

No more telling people my children are in their twenties.  Come to think of it, I only have a few more months in my fifties.  Yikes!  How in the world did it happen so fast?

Serenity

Sunset

A Visit From The “Baby”

Our daughter came to visit us the week before her birthday.  She and her husband were supposed to be on a trip to Sweden but, like so many other things during this pandemic, the trip was canceled.  She still had some vacation time so she made the ten-hour trip down from Birmingham to Anna Maria Island to visit the family.  We had a wonderful time — getting takeout, reading, riding bicycles, playing with the new puppy, hanging out by the pool and simply enjoying each other’s company.

The week flew by and we had to say goodbye much sooner than we wanted to.  It was especially difficult this time because of the uncertainty of the pandemic. Normally, we would see her at the end of July for our big family reunion but that has been cancelled.  I don’t know when we’ll get to see her again.

I have to be honest, my husband and I both shed a few tears as she hopped in her car and drove away.  It reminded me of other goodbyes — the first day I dropped her off at kindergarten, the first time we left her at camp, the first time she drove herself to school, the first time she drove back to college.  It’s been a cycle of hellos and goodbyes. 

Empty Nest Problems

I would like to say its getting easier but I don’t know that it is.  Maybe I’m just getting more used to it.  As I see her growing older, there is the stark realization that I am as well.  I am more than grateful for the time we get to spend with both of our children.  I just wish the hellos and goodbyes were a little more frequent.  There is a certain urgency to squeeze in as much time with them as I can.

How about you, fellow empty nester?  Does it get easier as the years go by?