Stopping the Clock for Haddy

I have a two decorative clocks on my walls that need fixed. Sometimes I wish I could stop the clock of my life as easily.

The other day, I looked across the dinner table and Haddy had grown up. She was wearing a princess dress and eating ladylike bites, contributing to our conversation and making us laugh.

I have a paper on the fridge for each of my kids' quotes and acheivements. These are just a few quotes I want to remember about my Haddy in the month of May.

• "My tummy is hurting. I need to put a bandaid on it."
  
• Haddy was pretending to be sad with her head down and an exaggerated frown. I asked her what was wrong and she smiled and said, "Nothing. I'm just talkin' 'bout a big tease."


• As she tickled Sophia, she exclaimed, "I made a funny!"


• I was cutting a picture for Isac and she counciled, "Mommy, be careful. Don't cut your piggy-nails." She'll also say, "Let's paint my finger-tails."
  
• "Mommy, you take your jammies off and I'll take my jammies off and put our dresses on and 'da-dah-daaaahhh'.....we'll be a PRINCESS!!!" We did just that.


• "I want more oatmeal with raisins...no....coldie blueberries...no...I don't know what I'm talking about."


• "Mommy, when you get bigger, you will wear Princess underpants like me."


• At Lithia Park we were watching waterfalls and Haddy said, "That waterfall is my favorite...no, PINK waterfalls is my favorite."

In time, the image of Haddy's boyish run, her round tummy, her black church shoes tapping to a beat, her deliberate and exaggerated expressions, and her red curls will fade in my memory. I can't remove a battery to make my clock stop. Why is it that the things most necessary to happiness--progress, change, and growth--are also the most painful?

Maybe I won't fix those clocks.