Turning around ... and around

The past weekend was a beautiful one.  The good weather extended through yesterday, giving us a tantalizing teaser of spring to come.  The winter drizzle has now returned and is forecast to be with us most of this week.  I'm back to wearing heavy sweaters indoors even though the temperature is not below freezing, as it was a couple weeks ago.

I was also warmed up by a Skype call from Princess Butterfly and Momma M this weekend.  After she tired of amusing herself by pulling faces for the minicam, the Princess flitted about her room, hiding under the covers for a time, although her hiding place was obvious given all the wriggling movements in the sheets, then getting up to go draw on her easel.  She's literally a whirling dervish.  Thinking about her, I am reminded of and have been humming the song, "Turn Around."

Where are you going, my little one, little one

Where are you going, my baby, my own?

Turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four

Turn around and you're a young girl going out of my door

Turn around, turn around

Turn around and you're a young girl going out of my door  [...]

Big Bro's Big 10 birthday happened this month.  When Princess Butterfly joined us all, he was 7.  Big Sis was 9.  Now that Princess Butterfly is 3, their ages have risen correspondingly, to 10 and 12.  On her next birthday, Big Sis will officially become a teenager.  Here they are in the Fall of 2007, with the Princess, then eight months, looking much more solemn than she generally does off camera.

Here she is last year with her Papa (Big S), getting ready to dye eggs for the Easter Bunny.

Here she is in August 2009, watching TV with Big Bro in the motel on the way home from the beach in Oregon.

Here she is, home again and tired out from all the new experiences ... thinking about what new adventures lie ahead and what new mischief she'll get into.

Here she is with Big Sis (Ice Princess) and Cousin A in October 2009, celebrating Ice Princess's ice skating achievements.

When I myself was around her age, according to my mother, I used to preface certain statements with "When I grow up to be a Momma and you grow down to be a 'me,'" before announcing how the world would be different, much better of course, when I was in charge.  I intrinsically understood the sense of cycles.  In my world, children grew up and adults grew down.  That was the way that it was and that is the way that it would be, forever and ever.  In that world, there was no sickness, no death, no war and people would be kind to one other.  Reality, of course, has been and is much different.

Now I am literally part of the front-line generation.  I am sad to say that there has not been as much improvement in the world, at least not much improvement insofar as human beings treat each other, as I personally would like to see.   Sadly, there is evidence that some are being treated much worse -- that racism, bigotry, and mob rule are not things of the past, but very present now.

But I am happy to see that there is still joy, anticipation, even enthusiasm for life in these little ones.  Whoever and wherever they are, they are the future.  When they grow up, I will be very glad to "grow down." 

[...] Where are you going, my little one, little one?

 Little dirndls and petticoats, where have you gone?

Turn around and you're tiny. Turn around and you're grown.

Turn around and you're a young wife with babes of your own.

Turn around. Turn around.

Turn around and you're a young wife with babes of your own.