Monday, February 27, 2012

Hope Chest

After seeing my daughter with my senior prom dress on last night, I realized that time is flying!  She is only 12 years old, going to be 13 in a few months.  My dress fit her like a glove!  I was only 17 when I wore it.  Of course she is already taller than I am, so the dress would be a little too short for her.  (She takes after her dad, being tall, and after me during my youth, being skinny!)  The imagine of her in that dress last night made me think today that "Whoa!  She's getting older, quick!"  I miss those times with her curling up beside me on my bed, watching TV.  Or just she and I going places.  Or playing Kelly dolls.  Time flies quickly as many parents say!  So, with that, I started to think in 5 more years she will be graduating high school.  TEAR.  She will be starting college and life on her own.  Building her life to who she is.  Maybe I should start thinking about preparing her for those days.  Maybe I should start collecting things for when she is on her own.  Memories brought back the idea of what my father made me....My HOPE Chest.  Inside, we put things in there that I would need on my own when I graduated and went to college.  Why buy things all at once?  We bought towels, packed away a quilt, plates....etc! 

The Hope Chest my dad made me....1994.

I still have my hope chest, lined with cedar, like my dad made me.  I'm thinking I am going to pass it down to my daughter, filling it with the essentials she will need on her own.  I never thought about it until now.  I will include the scrapbooks I made for her every year as she has grown, little notes that I write about her growing up, words of encouragement to live by, Christmas ornaments to fill her own large tree one day, photos to cherish, my colorguard uniform that she played with as a little girl, and her first prom dress (when that happens), so that one day her little girl can try on and make her think back to these days when she tried on her mommy's. 

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