The aging process, they say, is all about loss. You lose your eyesight, your agility, your courage. You lose your hair, your friends, your memory; your speed, your skill, your confidence. You lose your children. Not literally—the fortunate, and this includes most of us, do manage to maintain relationships of some kind with our kids. But who those kids are has changed dramatically: they’re grown-up adults, people we may or may not like, and who may or may not like us. They’re no longer babies, toddlers, cute little girls and boys. Those little munchkins we cuddled on our laps are gone forever. They left a long time ago, in the blink of an eye. “Left, went East. See u soon.”
I miss my babies. I miss the sweet little apple-cheeked girl who giggled when I tickled her belly. Today is that little girl’s 42nd birthday, and all I can think of is her second.
