Faster than you can say "BOO"

Last night I was bringing my kids to get their Halloween costumes at Party Packagers and the song “Forever Young” came on the radio. For some really weird reason, I felt a tear forming in my eye. The words really touched me in a way that never did before. “Will you never love in vain because in my heart you will remain, Forever Young.”

As parents we try to teach everything we know to them. Our mistakes, our achievements and our own life lessons. We teach them not to talk to strangers, to treat others the way we want to be treated, to always do things that make us happy, and to stay away from friends that pressure us to do things we don’t want to do. We hope they listen and we always wonder if they really do.
As we walked into the Halloween store, and fought through the crowd, we got to the costumes section. My son wanted to be the “Scream” scary costume and my daughter chose “Hannah Montana.” Of course, their wish was my command. I got to the cash, got ripped off, and left. Thoughts went through my mind when they were looking at the board of pictures of costumes. It was only 2 years ago that my son was a superhero “Batman” and “Ninja Turtle the year before”, my daughter was “Dora” and “Tinker Bell.” Now we have moved onto scary capes and tween age girl icon. What happened from then until now? Did they change that much, so quickly? I didn’t feel it, I didn’t even know it was happening, it just did.

When we got home, I went upstairs to the closet that holds all the old costumes; I saw Dumbo, Lion King, Mickey Mouse, Princess Aurora and other friendly characters. I remembered the days like they were yesterday. Their excitement of their first Halloween, and their first dance-a-thon at school. The days just flew by and they continue too. My children, just like everyone else’s, are growing faster than we have the chance to notice.

“May the good Lord be with you, in every road you roam, and may sunshine and happiness surround you when you’re far from home. “And when you finally fly away, I’ll be hoping that I served you well. For all the wisdom of a lifetime, no one can ever tell.” All we can hope for as parents is that we taught them well and right. My father always said this to me “Diana, I hope I raised you well. That is all I can do to make myself feel ok, when you walk out that door.” Those words always stayed with me, because I know he did his best to teach me right from wrong, and that sometimes I had to learn the hard way. He felt confident that he armed me with his love and knowledge of the “real world.” This is all we can do as parents for our children, they grow so quickly.

I sometimes wonder how my parents allowed me to go out with my 16 year old friends on a Friday night. I asked my mother once and she said this to me “As you grew, I grew with you.” She said to me “I know that I taught you well and that you would not put yourself in a situation that made you feel uncomfortable or unsafe.” Those words are very real. Children don’t grow alone, we grow with them. We reach every situation they reach, with them. Children grow fast, they grow without warning. This Halloween my son will be trick or treating for the 8th time, it happened fast and furious, it happened faster than I thought; it happened faster than I was able to say “BOO.”
That's my peace today!

Stuffed Pasta Shells
1 pack of large Pasta shells
1 tub ricotta
1 pack baby spinach, boiled, chopped and cooled
1 egg
1/2 parsley chopped
1/4 cup parmesan
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
2 cups cooked sauce

Boil pasta as directed on package. In a bowl, mix ricotta, egg, and spinach and parsley. Combine and stuff into shells. Pour sauce and sprinkle both mozzarella and parmesan on top. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 385 degrees.