How long is a girl a child? She is a child, and then one morning you wake up she's a woman, and a dozen different people of whom you recognize none. (Louis L'Amour)

I came across that quote today and was brought to tears. My Madilyn has grown up before my eyes. She now stands right below my chin (perfect height as my chin rest) and many times a day I'm shocked at who I see and who I don't see anymore. I'm so very blessed to have her as my oldest. She takes a lot from me...a lot of expectations, a lot of frustrations, and a lot of responsibility. It's rough being the oldest and she does it with poise and beauty. Starting 5th grade has been a huge maturing event in her life. I cannot believe how much she's grown up in the last few weeks. Kids are expected to do so much nowadays. A typical post-school day consists of 30 minutes of piano practice, 20 minutes of French Horn practice, at least 20 minutes of reading, homework, and "play time" if we can squeeze it in. And on top of that, there's church groups, family times, and her mom's taunting voice to clean up after herself. That's a LOT of pressure for a 10 year old. I pray that God can keep that on the fore-front of my mind when I start adding to her work load. And I pray that God continues to remind me of the wonderful blessing of Madilyn. I need reminders...today it was a quote that brought me to reality.