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Saying Good Bye to Summer in a Butterfly Garden

A trip to the zoo yesterday gave us a wonderful chance to say good-bye to Summer.  It's been a fantastic summer.  We accomplished a great deal.  Remember the Big Purge?  I'll never forget the Garage Sale Success stories, the Canning of Sssssssalsa and start of our basement remodel.  

We took a few moments at the zoo to see things we had never spent much time on before.  We enjoyed the butterflies, saw a grizzly swimming, watched the dolphins perform and got to touch and feed some sting-rays.  It just doesn't get better than this.

As we went out for dinner after the zoo, I couldn't even eat my delicious salad.  I looked around me and took a mental picture.  We were exhausted, sweating from the miles of walking we did at the zoo, and ordinarily, we'd head home quickly before the kids lose their cool.......but the kids were joking, laughing, and playing with each other at the table.  They are growing up.  Even I can see that.  The times of constant correction at the restaurant table are gone.  The days of eating cold meals because I am cutting everyone elses' meat or pancakes are done.  HH and I actually, now after 9 years, enjoy our food at the same time our children are enjoying their food.  Any parent knows exactly just what that dream means.

I munched on my salad, taking small bites, but truly, mentally, I was saying good-bye to not only Summer with this day of zoo fun and dinner out, I said good-bye to a chapter of our family's life.  The kids have their own inside jokes, games they play spontaneously, sharing their crayons at the table, and even Babe gobbled up his grilled cheese eagerly.

I am moving into another motherly role....it's less and less about the active, physical labor of the job.  I get the chance to sit and enjoy, and that's a new experience for me.  Now, we move to the next chapter....one of more talk, loving guidance and my own example. 

For all you young mothers reading,.....it DOES get better.  Those babes grow up.  They WILL be able to cut their own meat.  They WILL conquer good behavior at dolphin shows, the movies and yes, even restaurants.  As Mother, you will once again eat a hot meal with your children present and you'll only have to mention once, "Please use your indoor voice."

Just like these beautiful butterflies we saw yesterday, kids too seem to grow out of that caterpillar stage.....that cocoon that we tend to put them in, and they emerge, slowly, I can see that, slowly into such a colorful, dynamic personality. 

Enjoy these pics from the Butterfly Garden.  Just as each one is unique and beautiful, so too, I have seen each one of my children's personalities grow, develop and mature.  It's a gift.  Thank you.



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