I Blinked

Of all the nicknames I’ve had over the years one of my all time favorites is “Everyone’s Aunt Betty”. It was just easier to introduce myself at kiddo events as Aunt Betty. I’m also not comfiest being addressed by my title and surname. It’s just too formal. So everyone, and I mean everyone just calls me Aunt Betty.

Why divulge that? Well 18 years flew by and my incredible great-niece graduated from high school last night. It was an emotional time and of course exciting for her so the pictures I took were minimal. Her graduation party is tomorrow and I’ll have more opportunities to get snaps of all the newly graduated squad and family.

Watching all these young people finish this journey was surreal. I remember my own graduation nearly 40 years ago. There was no other time in my life when I felt as fearless. And as I looked at my niece I could tell she felt the same way. In three weeks she turns 18 and later this summer she leaves for basic training because she enlisted in the Air Force.

I’m in the fall season of my life looking back at how quickly all my littles have grown. I blinked and I’m mama to three grown adults, grandma to a couple grandnuggets that are also growing too fast and I’m Aunt Betty to a lot of nieces and nephews. This is another one of those blog posts that informs you of how quickly life moves. Take my advice and live your life. Don’t spend these precious years trying to just keep up with life. We can’t slow things down but we can take time to cherish the moments, take lots of pictures and tell people we love them, we’re proud of them and we’re always there for them.

You’re gonna’ blink and look back over your shoulder wondering how they all went from babies to grown adults with their own lives. Trust me. I blinked.