No Longer my Baby Girl

A sad day arrived for me this week- one of those that sneaks up on you - like when your baby outgrows the bottle and you don't get to burp her any more, or the day when she decided she didn't want me to rock her so sleep anymore, or when she started playing computer games and gamecube and stopped running to greet me at the door with a hug and "Daddy's Home!" And the dis-enchantment with butterfly kisses and daddy singing her "special song" at bedtime.

Natalie corrects me all the time now - 2 of my nicknames for her have always been "baby" and baby-girl" - the latter she got early in the pregnancy before we picked a name and has stuck - but now she has to remind me that "I'm not a baby dad!"

Thursday was one of those days for me. I left work to go and pick up Natalie from her 1st day of Pre-school. I can't believe my baby girl is going to "school". It seems impossible that she has grown up so fast. Oh, to keep her that sweet little girl forever, but I know that God has great plans for her life.

My sweet baby girl is growing up too fast - I dread the day she starts dating (age 18 I think), and don't know how I could hold it together to walk her down the aisle one day. But for now I find some consolation in hearing her tell me about her day at school (a lengthy ordeal) or her asking me to "sleep with me a little bit daddy" after bedtime stories and prayers.

Psalm 127:3 (NLT)
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.