First Dates

My son had his first date. How did this happen? How did he get to the (gulp) dating age? Of course, he has had “girlfriends”…you know the ones they rarely talk to and never really see outside of school but this was a date. And true, it was a Holiday Dance so it was a school function. And he has gone out with groups and already kissed a girl or two…I hope not more. But this was a date. After he got gussied up in his all-to-expensive suit and gathered the corsage (that Mom suggested he get and ordered and picked up and paid for…ok, I got the corsage) and we headed to her house. After pictures I left all the while wanting to either puke or cry because my baby was growing up and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it. It seems like yesterday he was the little boy who still needed his Mom when he fell off his bike because the blanket he was using as a cape got stuck in his tire spokes. Or just days ago that I held him in my arms and realized he was really my son to take care of and raise. I never expected the years to fly by so quickly. I am now grasping at the few years we have left before he heads off to college and then to build his own life and family. I just can’t figure out how I blinked and he grew up. Even though there are days that he drives me crazy I still wish every day I could just stop the clock so that he wouldn’t keep growing up.

I’m just not ready for first dates and everything that comes after that.