The day Daddy got really scared.

Sunday is Church day.

But, Sunday I decided to take some time and pamper the "Drama Queen". She has the longest, strongest nails ever, compared to my paper thin things. She lets them grow so long and then decides that during art she is going to chop them off with those awful blunt edged scissors. Makes me crazy. So there were her hands with long glamorous nails, so we french-tipped them.

Wow!

They looked good, almost professional good.The "Drama Queen" has decided to grow out her bangs and make her hair all one long length. This has produced many dilemmas as to what to do with the bang-in-the-face problem. So I decided that since we are glam'ing the nails we will do the hair too. So I get out my 3rd degree curling iron and 50 or so bobby-pins and go to town.

We are both having the time of our lives.

Me, because she so rarely lets me do this -but at the moment she cannot escape cause her toes and fingers are wet.

"Drama Queen", because mom is actually making her look good and she likes it - very grown up.

Last bobby-pin is placed and I give her a good coating of hairspray and we are off to select just the right dress and shoes to accentuate the whole look. When she is done, I am so pleased. She looks beautiful, wholesome and so gorgeous.

"Drama Queen" descends the stairs as I rally the guys to come and witness the transformation. "The Man" is speechless, in fact he has an almost green tint to his face. He compliments "Drama Queen", telling her that she looks wonderful.

Several moments later I am getting ready for church and "the man" corners me in our room. He is shaking.
"Honey, are you alright?"

"Did you see our daughter?"

"Yeah! I kinda had to to do her hair."

"She looks so grown-up."

"She looks beautiful."

"I am not ready for her to be grown-up."

I kinda stop and look at him. I guess that I have been more aware of the change as I see the other kids in her classes maturing. Next year we deal with Maturation at school and I know that I am already wigging out about that one. But she is going to grow up. I guess he just did not see it or that he just does not want to start thinking about what that means. Regardless it was the day that Daddy really got scared. I watched him with the kids that day, he kept looking at them so strangely almost as if he had not seen them for a long time. I guess there is a time when you look at your kids and suddenly they are so grown-up. When did they change and were was I when it happened?

All I know is that I want to be there and that if I can help my kids grow-up better then I did, stronger than I was at their age and hopefully instill in them the tremendous love that I have for them, then that is the best that I can hope for.

Look what happened in ten short years: