Growing up is Hard to do... On Everyone Involved

Tonight is Breathitt's graduation. I thought I'd go ahead and write while I was able to put some thoughts together.  I'm afraid I'll be a blubbering mess after tonight.  Time goes by so quickly...

It doesn't seem like that long ago that Mom told us she was pregnant.  We all wanted a boy.  Instead, we got Kami.  Chubby cheeks, big old eyes.  I loved her so much.  This baby girl changed our lives.  She had this cute little giggle... many times I've sat and just listened.  She loved dressing up and jewelry and makeup.  She liked tea parties and Barbie dolls.  She was beautiful. She was dramatic.  She was our princess, and we were her royal court. 

As she walked down the aisle at my wedding, she did so in her usual flair.  Bright brown eyes shining, she'd slowly wipe the tears away from her cheeks.  "Kam, what's wrong?" I asked her after it was over. "You're leaving..."

And I was, but only to the backyard.  She's made many trips from Mom and Dad's to our trailer, then the doublewide, and finally the house.  I've watched her grow from a curious little girl who helped me study my anatomy terms to a beautiful, smart, caring young woman.  As I listened to her rehearse her speech tonight, I sat with tears in my eyes.  Now, she's the one leaving.  Rationally, I know it's not forever.  And we'll have this summer together.  And it's not like UK is another country... but still. 

Last summer's Governor's Scholar helped us adjust.  Still, as she finished that speech, Caleb got up and made his way to the other room.  "Bye, Kami!" He yelled as she headed out the door.  Then my baby came and sat in my lap and buried his head in my shoulders... tears running down his face.  "Caleb, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Because she's leaving, Mom..."

Graduations are a natural process... if you're there tonight you'll hear her tell you all about it. This little girl that cried as I graduated from a single sister to a married one, the same little girl who cried as her brother-in-law packed her down the hallway to the nursery because she had graduated from being the baby to an aunt.  And graduations are happy times, too... because we know the future is bright.  This class of 2012 can do anything they want to do.  Still, there's that bittersweetness...

Go with God, Kami Busybeth.  I am so very proud of you, and always will be.  Shine like the star God made you to be.  And I'll be here in the background, cheering you on... because that's what big sisters do.