Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

The first cry. The first smile. The first laugh. Those first wobbly steps.

Almost every parent celebrates these milestones, and they earn their marks in baby books and in family Christmas cards as we relate the significant events of the year. We celebrate because our baby is growing, showing more of a personality each day. She is more of an individual and her desire for our mere presence and approval are still noticeable. We look at these milestones and know they are growing faster than we really want, but we are not really confronted by just how fast. Maybe that is why we focus so much on these milestones.

Recently, my oldest daughter was allowed to stay home alone for the first time. She had wanted to for some time, but I had never felt comfortable. When we go into town, we are typically gone for hours and town is just too far to rush back in the event of an emergency. When my husband and I had to pick up the car from the shop, however, we realized that we had an opportunity. We would only be gone for 45 minutes. It wasn’t that far. And our neighbors were home if anything should happen.

My daughter was ecstatic. My husband and I were nervous. We piled rules on her and started going through scenarios to let her know what to do in every possible one. We were anxious parents leaving their baby alone. She was excited to finally gain a privilege unique to her because of her age and level of maturity. We left and tried not to call home too many times.

When we got home, we discovered she had done her chores and spent some time coloring while listening to Swiss Family Robinson. My little girl had taken the responsibility that had been given her and lived up to the expectations placed upon her. It didn’t really surprise me, but this milestone was met with more sadness than I would have guessed.

After all, it wasn’t all that long ago that she smiled for the first time. And now already she is showing evidence of the young woman she is becoming. The one that is going to one day move out of the house to begin her own family.

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