Clare Henney: The Kids Are Growing Up
Last week marked the start of the school year for my niece and nephew.
It’s sad to wake up in the morning and not have the kids around to greet me a good morning as they sit drinking their milk and watch their morning cartoons. I miss watching my nephew pray before going to sleep at night beside me.
With my niece in school by 7 am and my nephew attending classes at a school near where he lives with his parents, those nice morning greetings will not be possible until the sem break in October. I have this bittersweet feeling seeing them growing up. The feeling reminds me of the song from Taylor Swift called Never Grow Up.
Your little hand’s wrapped around my finger And it’s so quiet in the world tonight Your little eyelids flutter cause you’re dreaming So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light To you everything’s funny, you got nothing to regret I’d give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that
There’s always this part of me that wants to keep babying them and spoiling them but there’s also this side of me that is fascinated with how much they are growing that I can actually have conversations with them about things that I never had before because they are growing up and learning to ask about things around them. It’s amazing how much I realize I can share with them about the things in life that I love and appreciate in the same way that my parents did for me. It made me think of how big a responsibility it is to be an adult with children in your life. Kids look to you to see the kind of people they think they could or should be. It’s something we need to think about with everything we do if we have kids in our lives.
I can’t wait for sem break. It’s just way too long a wait to have more time to hang out with my niece and nephew again.