The Beginning Of The End

Seniors Rule!

Thursday night was "Senior Night" for Evanston's Gymnastics team.  This is the time of the season, where they take time to celebrate the Seniors on the team.  

As I sat in the stands with another Senior mom (shout out to Linda!), we reminisced about our very first Senior Night, 4 years ago when our girls started on Junior Varsity as Freshman.  The Senior girls on Varsity seemed so big, so old, so mature to us back then.  Being the parent of a Senior seemed so far away for us.  Now our girls are the Seniors!

And there we were on Thursday, good friends now.  4 years of chatting, joking,  long meets and those hard benches.  The injured back, knees, ankles, broken elbow, broken toes, many hospital visits, Dr. visits and physical therapy sessions.  The proud Gymnastic Mom moments.  It all happened so fast.

So, Thursday's Senior Night was the first of what may be a lot of "Senior Year" moments.  It was the beginning of the end of Gabby's high school career.  I knew this would sneak up on me.  I was prepared...no tears.  There will plenty of time for tears in the next few months.

Happy New Year!

Sinobia is back from Italy safe and sound.  I missed her...a lot.  She enjoyed her trip and has not stopped talking about all of her adventures and cultural experiences abroad.  I am so pleased that she soaked up every little detail of this trip.  She has been talking about art, architecture, food, her bargaining skills at the market and what it feels like to be and American/African-American outside of the United States.  

Eric and I took bets on what would be the first thing she would want when she got off the plane...Chipotle!  We were right, she declared she was done with pasta and pizza for a little while and wanted to head straight to Chipotle:)  

2013 is here and we will be heading back to work and school in a few days.  

I cried New Years Eve.  It was the first time that Eric and I were without both of our kids ringing in the New Year.  Since Gabby has gotten older, there have been a few years where she has gone out with friends, but this year there was no Gabby or Sinobia to toast in the New Year with.  Eric and I settled in for a movie and then drank our sparkling cider together at midnight...without our girls.

2013 may be filled with a few teary-eyed moments.  Our girls are getting big; growing up.  They are becoming more independent, as we have raised them to be.  There will be more moments when they choose to be with their friends or venture off without us.  Gabby will be graduating from high school in a few months and going off to college.  Sinobia wants to go to "sleep-away" camp this year.  My baby girls are doing exactly what we wanted them to do...be adventurous,  be independent,  be resilient, seize opportunities and enjoy life!  

What am I crying about then?  I am going to have to spend a good part of 2013 learning what it means to be a parent of older children.  They need me less and less each day.  My parental job description is changing each day as they grow older.  I don't do well with change.  I like it when things stay the same.  Consistency works well for me.  I'm all about the routines and my routines are changing.  I am going to need to do some growing myself.  It's going to be difficult, but I knew this time would come.  

This is all good stuff.  We are all evolving in the Aiden house.  We'll grow together and support each other as we have been doing.  We will cheer each other on, yell at each other and cry together.  We will continue to be who we are, just different...a little older and a little wiser, but still full of love for each other.

Happy New Year!

May 2013 be filled with good health, happiness and love for everyone!