Growing up.

My daughters went back to school recently. On E's first day, her teacher had her fill in a fact-sheet about herself--favorite book, favorite food, etc. But one of the questions surprised me. "If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?"

That requires a bit more introspection. Many of the children still evinced a blissful innocence, responding with delighful, childish fantasies like "I wish I could become an animal", or "I wish I lived at the beach". But for a few of the kids, such innocence is beginning to wane. One boy wished he could change his ears, a sure sign of growing self-consciousness which made my heart ache. My own daughter wished she could change her speed. She's never the first horse out of the gate--but until recently, she didn't know it. Just last year she thought she was the fastest kid in the world.

It pains me to see her dwell upon her limitations--for her sake, and also my own. It's another sign that I'm slowly (or rather quickly come to think of it) losing my darling child. A mournful realization, though I know that I'll get a darling woman in exchange.