Greatest Gifts
Kids seem to grow up almost with the flip of a switch. One day they are babies crawling and the next day they are walking. One day they are home all day playing and running errands with us and the next day they are on a bus to school. One day they are playing with toys and watching cartoons and the next day they are texting their friends and asking for rides.
We feel we are right on the brink of our youngest daughter, Lucia, hitting that next stage and growing up, what feels like, way too fast.
This year for her birthday experience, we surprised her with tickets to see Disney On Ice. We knew we were cutting it close on whether she would be excited over it. We knew we were in the final days of capturing some of that magic.
Thankfully, she was super excited with her gift and we all counted down to the day of the show.
The show was in Atlanta so we enjoyed a couple of hours travel time to visit in the car. We took her to Chuy’s—one of her all-time favorite places because she loves their queso. We laughed and told stories and had the best time.
Then we went to the show. We watched as this sweet newly 11-year-old sang her little heart out to nearly every song. She was intrigued by the iceskating stunts and was taken in by the music. Some songs were nostalgic for her like Princess and the Frog and Moana. We remember both movies playing over and over and over again and her little toddler voice singing along. Others were more current like Encanto and Raya and the Last Dragon and she watched their performances in awe.
As we watched her watch the show, we were a bit nostalgic, too. We pictured our little baby girl in a Moana costume for her fifth birthday and the countless hours she played make-believe as the island princess. We could remember her twirling around in Disney princess dresses. And as we were reminded of that little girl playing pretend, we were so grateful for this time with our growing-up-way-too-fast-preteen.
We were reminded how important experiences are with our kids. We don’t give the latest technology or the newest toys. We don’t have new TVs or updated gaming systems. We don’t have the trendiest styles or the newest gadgets. We stopped gifting these things years ago in place of time spent with our kids. We gift one-on-one time and an experience for that specific child’s birthday. It has been the greatest gift and is always something we will never forget.
The truth is, our kids are growing up right before our eyes. We can’t slow it down but we are here to soak up every minute we can at every stage!
