I’ve had a very long week. My husband was out of town. I drove carpool three days this week. I cooked dinners and drove kids around and met friends in my free time while everyone was occupied by school to hike the trails at Torrey Pines. Every single day I’ve thought it was the next day. I worked every day and went to bed late every night.
When I finished working today, I cooked dinner and put it in the Crockpot to keep warm. Then I drove through rush hour traffic to pick up my daughter from a game where she was cheerleading. When we got home, we had five minutes to change clothes before heading out to watch my son and his girlfriend perform in the high school’s Coffee House event. They were the first act of many. (He played guitar and she sang.)
Even though I was exhausted, watching those high school kids was a delight. The monologues, the skits, the songs, the dancing, the laughter, the forgotten lyrics . . . a blink ago, those kids were first graders with gap-toothed smiles and enthusiastic motions and boisterous shouted songs. At least that’s how it seems. Now they are careening toward adulthood.
It was so touching and encouraging and scary and impressive to see these high-schoolers express their big feelings and humor and confidence and beliefs. Such talent and vulnerability and hilarity. Their peers in the audience cheered and yelled “I love you!” and shouted out lyrics. Paying seven bucks for the honor of being a witness to the awesomeness of high school kids onstage was a bargain.
(Then I came home and worked some more.)
Actual Unretouched Photo 
My daughter will be in high school next year. It is so hard to believe!
I had a dream last night where we took her to college. Leaving her was so bittersweet – I never knew what my parents went through when I did that – and what I just went through was just a dream but it really touched me. I don’t want to acknowledge how grown up they are!
The coffee house show sounded fantastic and touching in much the same way. Cheers!
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busy busy…just wait the till the grandkids come along. :0)
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Thanks for sharing this – had seen the video of Zach’s guitar accompaniment to his girlfriend’s singing, and wondered about that. And Grace is a cheerleader now? My, oh my – they are changing and growing every single minute! They probably don’t do a lot of saying “thank you” for all the driving around you do, taking them places and remembering to pick them up again (remember when I forgot to get you after a baseball game – probably more than once? I’m sorry, and hope you forgave me.) but they will have lots of memories of the great mom you were, and will thank you for investing your time and love in their worlds!
And this picture – I probably say it after seeing just about every sunset picture you post, but THIS ONE! – this one is SO cool. How you captured those two walking in just the right spot at the right time – from above, looking down. Oh my – I love it!
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The passage of time is such a weird thing.
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