Time Goes On…

My favorite farmer assures me that I turn 29 with every birthday that passes.  When I look at my girls, I have to admit that I call his math skills into question…

My first baby stands 4” taller than me, and appears to be taking the 8^th grade by storm.  She achieved the 200 mile club for Cross Country again this summer pounding out 250 miles of training all on her own.  She is chalked full of true grit, and both her talent and her work ethic will ensure her a successful future.  Whether it is the quickness of her mind or that of her legs, to say that she makes me proud would be a tremendous understatement!

My second baby had her first day of Middle School last week.  Despite the fact that my cowgirl can handle a large group of cattle with ease and break into the yoga position of choice while standing on a feed yard fence, the thought of going to 6^th grade in the “big school” terrified her.  I am happy to report that her inner confidence and natural tenacity kicked in when she walked through the school door and she appears to be thriving in her new environment.  Megan laughed when I told her that she simply needed to be acclimated just like the calves in the feed yard 🙂

My third baby stands almost 5 feet tall and wears the same shoe size as I do.  I keep telling myself that it’s normal for an 8 year old to share shoes with her Mama, and I am dealing with the reality that if she keeps growing as fast as she did this summer, she will graduate from third grade taller than I am.  She is excitedly waiting for the soccer season to start this fall and has loved her first days of school.  Karyn and I were able to spend a few hours last week up in the Nebraska Sandhills with our horses for some special time before the start of school.  She is well on her way of becoming a great cowgirl just like her older sister.

As for my favorite farmer, he celebrates his 42^nd birthday on Saturday.  He is commemorating the occasion by traveling into Lincoln with high school friends to watch the first Husker game of the year.  Some days it seems hard to believe that as our girls fondly tell us “we are approaching middle age”; however, I am positive that the gray that livens up Matt’s hair and the wrinkles that give character to my face are simply outward representations of all of the joy that has marked our last 20 years together 🙂

How do you mark the passage of time in your own life?