When our little ones WERE little, I wondered how parents could STAND it when their killer-adorable kids grew up and turned into ordinary adults. How COULD they say goodbye to those plump limbs, that sublimely smooth skin, the round downy heads? New parents are always slaves to those baby characteristics, and pyschologists tell us that such traits seem to actually inspire devotion — Mother Nature’s evolutionary tool for insuring the survival of the species.
However, now I know how we cope as the kids grow up, and these traits vanish. Our helpless adoration for those painfully cute babies morphs into sheer CURIOSITY — how will you turn out, little one? I can’t wait to see you at ten, at sixteen, at thirty! I also feel myself joyously sharing their small triumphs each day, as they conquer each new independent outpost. Today I figured out how to study for my first mid-term exam! Today I called my cell phone provider to figure out why my phone wasn’t working! Wow — you ARE growing up, and I am unaccountably GLAD. I thought it would HURT to see you grow up and away from me, but no, I rejoice.
Linnetontheleaf 
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