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My oldest found a ladybug on our stone wall and made sure I was being careful with it as I snapped some pictures.  Her and I watched as the ladybug stayed put, crept along the stone wall and eventually took flight. It was a process for this tiny little insect and kind of spectacular to witness.

As she endured this short journey, it made me think about my own daughter, all three of my children really but her most since she is the oldest. She just turned 10 and while that doesn’t sound old to most people, it seems crazy old to me. In just 10 short years, she came into this world screaming and crying, wanting to be held and guided and in a snap of my fingers here she is 10. All those baby, toddler and early childhood milestones seem to have passed me by in a second although I know thinking about them how I struggled at times keeping on top of her babbling turn to talking, her crawling turn to lifting up and walking, her reaching turn to grabbing.

In the moment, we seemed to be creeping along slowly, hesitantly and with some apprehension. Was she speaking clearly enough, was she walking at a late age, was she holding her crayon correctly? Everything was scrutinized as I’m sure it is with the first child for most. Trying to see the world through her eyes was fun in those early years. What must have been going through her mind as she saw a butterfly for the first time, heard a plane soar above or watched the lights on a fire truck zoom by on the street?

Here she is 10 and still, the awe and wonder of a simple little ladybug catches her eye and captivates her. It’s incredible. I hope she never loses sight of something so simple, yet meaningful too.

As we watched together, the ladybug spread her wings a few times and lifted into the air and we lost her in the sky. We both had our eye on her and just like that, she was up on her own and in her own world.

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