Reflections on the young and the not so young

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Shopping with the beloved husband about 5 years ago. Those were the days of dolls and colorful clothes!

Seems like I was young just last week. Or was it the week before? Could it have been that different?

The granddaughters were here for their annual visit. They have grown exponentially. Both are almost as tall as I am. They are eleven. I am older than that. Much older.

But it was more than that. Gone are the juice boxes and the grilled cheese sandwiches. The doll stage was short and it’s long gone.

Kids don’t play jacks, hopscotch or pick-up sticks anymore. I remember lots of small games that helped improve eye-hand coordination although I’m not sure it worked for me. They are ahead of us in many other ways.

There were electronics and something called slime. I never did figure out what that was. Maybe something like our Silly Putty.

We bought them winter coats. (Also gone are the bright multi-colored clothes that their Grammy loves buying.) Although the same size, one chose a children’s size and the other found what she wanted in a woman’s small. It fit perfectly. How did that happen?

They seem to be bursting like the Hulk but more attractively. Much more attractively.

When I was a child, everything moved in slow motion. I remember that vividly. Christmas took forever to get here and so did summer vacation. Now I am trying to figure out where July went. It was here one day and gone the next. It felt like I misplaced it like car keys or screwdrivers.

My nieces and nephews are in their 50s and 60s. Time marches on whether we are ready or not. (Trying to hang on to fall so it doesn’t go the same way July went.)

Enjoy the moment. It’s very fleeting. Someplace there is a black hole. It contains socks, Julys, dolls and juice boxes.

 

60 thoughts on “Reflections on the young and the not so young”

  2. I sure do relate to the bit of lament! My older granddaughter just turned 10 and seems barreling towards 16. I do know what slime is. LOL! It’s made an appearance at our house, too. We have a new grandson born in September and he lives in the Bay Area so we can’t see him as frequently as we have always seen the girls. I already see how quickly he’s changing at less than two months old and I have reminded his mommy and daddy that they will blink and he’ll be in high school. LOL! I love the picture of the girls with your husband. Sweet memories, I’m sure!

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  9. Great post, so very true! Time goes faster all the time! My kids talk about it dragging and I just tell them to wait til they are my age and time won’t drag anymore!
    Loved the Pick up Sticks and my best friend and I used to trade stickers all the time! We had HUGE collections of them. The puffy ones, sparkly ones, scented ones, etc. 🙂

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  14. ” Now I am trying to figure out where July went.”… I am trying to figure out where October went! I want to stretch out November, it is my favorite month and I don’t want it to fly by. I am going to enjoy every moment. Our niece that lives in England with her husband and their two young girls have been here for over a week. That time flew by too. Our nieces and nephews are aged 28 to 32 and I don’t know how and when they reached those ages. Now I am a great aunt to a four year old, an 11 month old and a two month old… yes, I feel old but I learn so much from them. And while I am not a kid person but a cat person, I do so enjoy the time spent with them.

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  15. Last night, I told my best friend to do just that. Enjoy the moment – as she attends her 4th grade grandson’s Halloween event at school. Soon he’ll be in middle school and it won’t be nearly as cool to hang out with Grandma! Happy Halloween, Kate!

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  16. Ahhh – there’s nothing quite like youth to remind us that we aren’t young anymore.

    Sometimes I think that if I haven’t had any children, I’d still be blissfully unaware of how old I’ve become. I can only imagine how much more pronounced it would be with grandchildren!

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  17. Oh, how true!! How true!! How did we get this old? How did everybody else get so old? ROFL! The years rush by faster and faster, it seems. Yes, school years used to take f o r e v e r!! But I do remember summer vacations went by faster–LOL! I look more like my mother and grandmother every year. 😉

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  19. My nephews and niece are getting to be in their late 40’s and 50’s as well. I remember babysitting them! Of course, I am not getting older (unless it qualifies me for some senior discount. Then I’m older than the hills!) Jacks, hopscotch and pick-up sticks…they need a revival in my opinion. Happy Tuesday, Kate.

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  22. Love this post, Kate. I see my grandchildren all the time and if two weeks go by in sometimes amazed at how much they’ve learned and grown. Your comment about the doll stage being short lived is very true and a poignant reflection in all our lives, young or old. We keep trying to his on but the rope is laced with grease, isn’t it.

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  26. “Kids don’t play jacks, hopscotch or pick-up sticks anymore.”

    So true. They move at a faster rate than we did. I agree that it seems odd, yet maybe they’re better off than we were. Interesting how the twins can wear both children’s sizes and women’s sizes. There’s a message there, I’m sure of it. Just don’t know what it is.

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