Milestones

Another special word to me... milestones.  One of my favorite things as a child was to run from the edge of our back deck All the Way to the back fence....  it was Far!  My daddy was the official time keeper.  As a jeweler, he had the best stopwatches.  On your mark, get set, go! And off I would go.  Much like he would let me win every hand of poker, I'm sure he shaved those seconds off each time making me think I was the fastest little girl there ever was.  When I finally hit that magic number...  he'd say, "Another milestone, Blossom."  Oh, to hear those words from him again.  I think the full circle, the closest I can get to that now...  is to say the very same to my own daughters. Today, as they graduate from 3rd and 6th grades, I will.  I will tell them they have reached another milestone.  There are so many random memories from childhood.  Completely insignificant days, blended in with all the rest, that we remember.  I remember "sheet day"...  my mom would strip all the beds, wash all the sheets, and then hang them to dry.  I was in charge of handing her clothespins. I felt very important because without my help the clean sheets would touch the ground and get dirty.  This way, she got to do it faster, which meant I got to run through them...hiding...  smelling the wonderful clean smell of Cheer and sunshine.  No milestone...but what a memory.  The milestones are all there...  the first time I was tall enough to open the freezer!  Big deal for me : )  My first time to sell Girl Scout cookies.  Trying out for cheerleader...  getting my ears pierced on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.  Somehow, each adventure was cemented by those simple words from my daddy.  He was present. He was proud. I was growing, changing, Blossoming....  and I knew one hundred percent I was loved.  My daughter's milestones are a special time for me to pull us out of the chaos.  If you asked them, now, they would surely have their own list.  Anni, diving off the diving board like a future Olympian.  Lexi, writing jokes like she's at the Improv....  their gifts, their talents, their triumphs, cemented.  It is timeless, this connection between parents and their children. We cheer and celebrate and cry.  We photograph.  Times have changed a bit.  I have taught my girls what a milestone truly means.  Its something they earned, achieved...  Not something they acquired.  Getting your first Ipod is Not a milestone.  They know this.  As a single parent, one of the hardest things for me has been attending school functions.  Whether it is the class musical, choir, play, or meet the teacher night...  I find myself feeling so alone.  There's no one to save a seat for...  I try for tunnel vision to find my daughter on the stage and ignore the rest of the perfectly paired audience.  I cry because I have only two hands and have to choose between taking still shots or a video.  So this last year of milestones for my girls... Lexi's first theatre performance, Anni's play...  I had my own milestone.  I left the camera at home.  I left the video camera at home. I left the Kleenex at home.  I put on my highest heels.  I sat in the front row for all to see and I celebrated, cheered, and cried joyfully. I can replay their sweet faces and angelic voices over and over because I was present.  I was fully immersed in their milestones.  I love sharing this tradition with them.  Its a timeout.  We slow down and we appreciate the journey.  I am so proud of their resilient little souls that have trudged ahead to brand new schools, new friends, new teachers and are graduating bright and shiny. They will have a milestone in a few days on their first airplane ride! I won't be there, but they have cards to open on the plane.  I am sending a love note, some spending money, and telling them, "Look out the window, girls, you've reached another milestone."  And they will beam and they will remember in their hearts forever.