"Marlin: I promised I'd never let anything happen to him.
Dory: Hmm. That's a funny thing to promise.
Marlin: What?
Dory: Well you can't never let anything happen to him. Then nothing would ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo."

-Finding Nemo

My daughter has gotten so tall. I keep thinking I'll be used to it, but I turn a corner into a room, and there she is, all these feet and inches of little girl, and it keeps startling me somehow that the chubby cheeked five year old has given way to this half-grown human. She's still her, you know; same eyes, same smile, but I want to slow the context down. I'm not ready for her to be seven yet, much less nine.

So many choices she will begin to face as she moves from elementary to middle school to high school. So many complications I'd like to spare her, so much wisdom to impart. I know those things I worry most about will be covered, but something else I haven't even dreamed of lurks to knock my little girl off balance. I want to still the time passing, or put her up in a fairytale tower where only warmth and laughter and gentleness can reach her. She's growing up much too fast for my liking.

Yet I'm sending up praises, too, to the clouds in the big, fluffy sky. She's healthy! She's happy! She's beautiful! Look how she grows! And like every mom, I think we play these moments close to the chest, doled out in sharp, short bursts because it is too frightening to reside on the fragility of a flower. The strength of that stalk is relative to the kindness of the elements, so you send a fierce prayer to the world with words for fair weather. Please lord, give us just a little more time down here, before I have to start the painstaking process of letting go. And when I do let go, could you just... keep an eye out, maybe? Spare her from fear and from pain, I'll take her portion if it helps any. Thank you, lord. Amen.

Learn more about this author, Alissa King.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Parenting past and present: Balancing a child's safety with the need for free exploration?
We want to hear your view. Write now!