I cannot begin to imagine the number of pictures I have snapped of this beauty. There have been photos covering birthdays, vacations, proms, museum trips and art ventures (remember the blue series, Bell? 😂). I knew shooting her senior pictures for college graduation would be bittersweet but it is so much more than that. It’s noticing that single little dimple on her right cheek all over again. It’s seeing those bouncy curls as if it’s the first time. It’s observing her tiny, little pigeon-toedness, the way she swings when she walks and that smile that always likened her to Shirley Temple, this time with an added grace that wasn’t there before. I have looked at these pictures forwards and backwards and I see a young woman that I’ve not seen before. One that I knew would come, one that was likely always there but like a star in our galaxy, I’m seeing it in light year measurements. It is unfathomable to me that both the speed of time and the feeling that it’s been many years coexist on the same plane. There are brief moments I long for the days she was small; those ridiculously sweet moments and many, many belly laughs but they pass quickly because this person before me continues to draw me in more and more each day. It is a privilege to know her, to listen to her, to converse, to laugh with and to love her. I’m so grateful that I’ve reached a point in my parenting that there is a shift, while I’ll still parent, I can also, now, revel in a friendship and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
Bella, congratulations on your graduation. You killed it my dear girl and I am not, in the least, surprised. I cannot wait to see what unfolds from here and I am so looking forward to being a part of it! I love you beautiful girl! Many many good wishes!
~ Momma
