We have a doll sitting on the shelf in our closet. Now this isn't just any doll... it is Hannah, the baby Laura got as a gift when Abigail was born over 14 years ago. The doll that Laura rocked and fed while I rocked and fed Abby. The one that slept with Laura for many, many years (along with her 7 or 8 other dolls, but this one ALWAYS slept closest to Laura). The doll that sadly got forgotten 4 hours away in Grandpa and Grandma's toy box and was missed for months before I realized that the missing doll and the doll Grandma had mentioned in passing one time were one in the same. Over time, the doll went from being snuggled in Laura's arms all night long, to being lovingly placed against the wall, to being laid on the floor beside her bed to spending several years tucked away underneath her bed. From there, she was placed on a closet shelf in the girls' room and she finally ended up in our closet when the girls moved to their bedroom in the basement. Laura never mentioned changing Hannah's sleeping spot, she just quietly moved her as she was outgrowing her.
And I thought of our children. Quietly doing this as they grow and mature. Physically growing from needing to be carried everywhere to crawling to walking and running. Moving from cradle to crib to toddler bed to bed. Quickly moving through clothes sizes.... They go from needing every single thing done for them to being able to completely take care of their needs. The go from being cradled in our arms in the rocking chair to laying on our shoulder to snuggling in our laps to barely fitting... They go from needing to have us make all of their decisions to us being more of a consulting presence to them working on planning their future... And it is hard to let them - but it is what they are born to do... I'm glad as they grow up and start growing away that they also grow closer in a new way and start growing into being a "friend".
Anyway, I had to smile tonight when for some reason one of the kids brought Laura's doll out to the kitchen from our closet. I asked Laura what she wanted me to do with Hannah. She said it didn't really matter to her, but from behind me her daddy quietly said, "Keep her..."
