i wonder...

i wonder if all mothers feel like this the moment they realize their daughters are growing up—as if it is impossible to believe that the laundry i once folded for her was doll sized; as if i can still see her dancing in lazy pirouettes along the lip of the sandbox.  wasn't it yesterday that her hand was only as big as the sand dollar she found on the beach?  that same hand, the one that's holding a boy's; wasn't it just holding mine, tugging so that i might stop and see the spider web, the milkweed pod, any of a thousand moments she wanted me to freeze?  time is an optical illusion—never quite as solid or strong as we think it is.    —jodi picoult (excerpt from my sister's keeper)

i know this is a more serious post than the normal, but i came across this quote yesterday, the eve of sarah's 13th birthday, while cleaning and organizing the office.   i had written it down years ago while reading the book, thinking that one day i would understand how this mother felt.  how funny that i find it right now, as my oldest is entering teenagedom.  i just wanted to share it as i am sure many of you out there with teenagers and young adult girls think the same things at any given moment in time.  we must enjoy every moment with them, for it goes by far too quickly.