I am so glad the Munchkin arrived safely Saturday night, considering there was a travel advisory due to weather in both her departure and arrival cities (we had more snow here than I can remember since I was a child).   My goodness, has she grown!!  A Munchkin no more, let me tell you:  she is not yet 11 years old and is already 5'2" tall!  She has also changed in the face since last summer.  She looks like a 'tween' now, for lack of a better description.  She looks like someone who paints her nails and texts her friends rather than someone who plays with My Little Ponies.  I remember distinctly the last major phase-shift she went through:  the summer after she turned 6.  I pulled into the driveway to see her after she had arrived with expectations of seeing a little girl.  The child that awaited me was a girl, not a little girl.  Any of the tiny traces of baby face that she had left at her last visit had been erased by the completion of kindergarten.  She had become a full-fledged elementary school girl.  I feel the same tug at my heart now:  so proud of what a neat kid she's growing into, yet sad to no longer tuck her under my wing and take care of her quite as much.  She didn't even bring a stuffed animal to remind her of home at night this time!  But I have always said that the most important part of parenthood is to remember we're not just raising kids; we're raising adults.  When they become more independent and more prepared to function on their own in society, it is a moment of success.  You do them no favors by keeping them dependent upon you.  More often than not, our days on this earth are over before theirs...  they need the ability to take care of themselves when you can't anymore.  Show them love and support so they can one day come home to visit you as an adult with a happy life all their own to talk about.
    I am looking forward to my houseful of girls waking up this morning so we can start the adventures of the day.

CL