Baby you can drive my car

And sleep at my house. And eat my food. And play with my toys. And track mud on my floor. For as long as you want.

Something that really hurts my heart is when I hear parents make statements about how glad they'll be when their children finally grow up and leave home. And their children still little tykes. It always puts a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Like I have right now just typing these words.

When our daughter was a little girl, it never once occurred to me that I would be glad when she grew up and left home. And I think she sensed that. I think she always knew that if she decided to stay our little girl forever and live at home, that would be just fine with both me and her dad. That could be why every year on her birthday from age ten forward, she would cry. She told us it was because she never wanted to grow up. She said she was so happy being a little girl she could never imagine herself being as happy as an adult. (Which, of course, she is, but that's another whole blog).

The important thing is....she never felt rushed to grow up just so her parents could move on to the next phase of their lives. I think if I had ever heard my husband say something about wanting her to grow up and move away, I would have probably beaned him with something! But I hear other men say stuff like that all the time....in the presence of their wife and children! Both of us feel the same way about this subject. And when we hear someone say it, my husband and I just look at each other and we both get tears in our eyes. Because we're both remembering how hard it was for us to put our daughter on a plane and watch her fly off to college nearly 1,500 miles away. Heck, my hubby had to wear sunglasses for a full two weeks before and after that day just so folks couldn't see him crying.

Then came the day we watched her walk down the aisle to marry the sweetheart she met at that college. In fact, her dad walked her down the aisle as "dad," then put on his "minister hat" and performed the ceremony. I still don't know how he managed to pull that off without a total breakdown! He did have to stop a few times to regain his composure but, all in all, he made it through with flying colors.

Then, nine years later, we had a beautiful baby granddaughter. Our lives were truly complete. And seriously sweet! We have watched her grow day by day, for the past seven years, at that same rapid blur with which her mommy grew up. We try to stress to our daughter and her wonderful husband how quickly these days of their little one's childhood will evaporate. And that they will be wearing sunglasses while putting her on a plane before you know it. I think they get it. Because I have never heard them utter anything about wishing these days behind them. If they're really lucky, their little one will cry just a little on each birthday because she's so happy being their little girl.

Oh, and by the way, our granddaughter's favorite song when she was just a baby: "Baby, You Can Drive My Car" by the Beatles. Appropro, wouldn't you say?