Time is just flying by so fast, and I cannot figure out how to slow it down.
One night this week had me feeling all the emotions. I know, I know – that’s not too unusual – after all, I am a crier. But man, time is just flying by so fast, and I cannot figure out how to slow it down.
For a while now, Maylie has been asking to shave her legs. I know, this may be too much information – and totally not newsworthy, but if you are a parent to a girl, it is a real part of life. And well, that’s pretty much what I write about.
Anyway, when Miss Maylie originally asked me, I was convinced that she wasn’t ready. She is only 11 and there was no need – I mean, hair was super blonde and barely visible. Plus, it’s the worst – shaving your legs. Just one more thing you have to do! I was all for putting it off as long as we could.
However, she was persistent. So, I dug in a little – why did she want to shave? It finally came out that on the last day of school – of 5th grade, someone made a face about her legs not being shaved. Honestly, she couldn’t even remember who it was, but it was enough to make her self-conscious about it.
Ugh. And here comes middle school right around the corner. I went into my mom talk about not letting others’ opinions influence her and reminded her that her worth was immeasurable through Jesus. But also, kids are cruel, and I remember just how hard it is in those in-between years. Still, she just seemed so young, and I thought we could just wait a bit longer.
Thinking I could get an easy way out, I told her that I would talk to her dad – who totally didn’t come through for me. Ha! When we chatted about it, he didn’t see the big deal and was fine with it. Dang it. I guess maybe, it was not that big of a deal, and I needed to embrace it.
And really, that’s when I realized that it wasn’t that she wasn’t ready to do it, but it was that I wasn’t ready for the first kiddo that I birthed to be old enough to shave her legs. How did that happen so fast? I was in denial that my baby was that old.
This isn’t in the parenting books – there is no “what to expect when your daughter wants to shave her legs.” So, I had to wing it. I went out and bought the safest razor I could find and some over the top shaving cream. Advising her to grab some towels, we sat on the side and started running some water into the tub.
The tub – the same tub that I put her in for her very first real bath. The same tub where she used water crayons to write ABC’s on the wall and we made messes with water paint and color changing tablets. The same tub that I scooped her out of with a hooded towel of her favorite character and prepared for take-off – because every bath had a flight from the bathroom to her bedroom.
“One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four to go.” Zoom – flying through the air to get to her final destination of pajamas, prayers and bedtime stories.
And yet, there I was, sitting on the side of that same tub – with a razor in the hand of my baby — guiding her through the steps of shaving her legs. While she was giddy with excitement, I tried to remember the last time was that I carried her out.
I can assure you that I didn’t know it was going to be the last time – or that the next time I would be sitting in the bathroom on the side of the tub with her that I would be showing her this. And it seriously rocked me trying to piece together all the time in between and where it all went.
But I pulled back my emotions – at least in front of her – and soaked in the moments together – another first that I got to share with her. Like the responsible kid that she is, she followed instructions very well and was super careful. Giggling at the patches that she completely missed, she asked me to double check and help her. She still needed me. At least this time.
All night, she talked about how weird her legs felt – even under a blanket. I reminded her that it doesn’t last and rubbed my prickly leg on hers. We both laughed.
And then, once she wasn’t in my sight, I cried. Sad tears that my baby was old enough to shave, followed by thankful tears for another experience in her life that I got to spend with her, and another memory made that I will cherish.
Sarah (Pitson) Shrader was born and raised in Lima. She is a Lima Central Catholic and Tiffin University graduate. Sarah is a full-time working mama who enjoys writing about her somewhat crazy, always adventurous life as a mom and bonus mom. She lives in Bath Township with her husband, Lee Parsons, and their seven kids.
