I knew from the age of seven what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to write books, and I wanted to be a mom. It was simple for me back then. I didn't have any of the details figured out, but the main goals were in place.
I haven't been seven in, let's see ...borrow from the four, ummmm ... it's 6:37 in the morning ... let's just say it's been a long, long time. Anyway, guess what? I write books. Indeed I do. And even more important ... I'm a mom.
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| Me and my pumpkins ... Maya and Scott |
I was twenty-eight when I had Maya. The decision to get pregnant came more than a year before those two pink lines showed up, and I remember how excited I was when I finally got a positive result. I was shaking and absolutely giddy when I realized I was carrying a child. It's been a wild and incredible ride ever since that memorable morning.
Far away. My oldest came to mind when I saw the topic for this post. I'm going to focus on her for the rest of this because we are coming up on a milestone for her that I always thought was so very, very far away.
Maya is seventeen now.
Maya Leigh. Oh, this girl. She is intelligent and funny. She's incredibly sarcastic and quick witted. She's beautiful - oh, so beautiful - and affectionate. She's her Daddy's girl, but she loves her Mama, too. She and I are incredibly close and just looking at her makes me happy.
Since she was a baby, we've combined her names and called her Mylee. When she was about two, she became very fond of ladybugs and earned herself the nickname Mylee Bug. I call her that a lot. I probably always will.
I also called her Sassafrass, but wouldn't dare think of uttering that name with her now.
Oh, my heart.
I began homeschooling Maya the day after her fourth birthday. We haven't looked back since. It seemed like we had a long way to go ... preschool and through elementary, middle school and beyond ... but now she's a senior with only eight months left to go, and that far away event of high school graduation is no longer far away at all.
It's. Much. Too. Close.
I'm not sure I'm ready. Seriously ... I swear this photo was taken just last week.
And what happened to this little girl?
The gap-toothed smile kills me. I loved that smile.
Maya really hasn't acted like a little girl since she was about eleven. Both of my kids have been fun loving, wise cracking mini adults since they were very young. Maybe that's how this whole thing snuck up on me; the fact that she's half a year away from being eighteen. She's felt that old now for years, but I kept telling myself we still had a lot of time left.
We're organizing transcripts, talking about what careers she might be suited for and getting ready for college. She's very interested in foreign language - both French and German, but she likes German better. She's been studying that since we lived in Germany, so she already has four good years of that under her belt. She's talked about perhaps getting an English Lit degree, too. This girl is like her mom. She reads just like she breathes. She can write, too, although she doesn't enjoy that nearly as much as she loves reading. She's also thought about working toward a criminal justice degree and becoming a forensic linguist. She really wants to travel, especially back to Europe, and is hoping maybe her German speaking skills might come into play. She isn't completely sure yet, but I know this girl. Whatever she chooses to do, she will do it well and put all of her heart into it. She'll set a goal ... keep setting them, and she'll succeed. That's just who she is.
I'm pretty sure Maya and I were looking out into the future here. She was still my little girl back then, and where we are now looked very far away.
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