Who Put Quicksand in My Hourglass?

The Week I Actually Looked Forward To

Here's the thing. I know what you're thinking. April, taxes, dread. But no. I am not even a little bit thinking about filing this week, and I will not apologize for it. I have far better things to do. This weekend I'm hosting my daughter's bridal shower, and I have been counting down to this moment for months.

The date is actually here. And I genuinely cannot believe it.

Time is a Liar and I Have Proof

"Middle age is when you begin to wonder who put the quicksand into the hourglass of time."

Whoever said that was clearly a fellow Gen Xer who just did the math on how long ago the 90s were. You know the reels I'm talking about, the ones that send us down a nostalgic rabbit hole nodding along like, "yes, that was basically last Tuesday." And then you do the actual arithmetic and your brain short-circuits a little.

My husband and I were just talking about this. In our heads, we're somewhere around 30 or 35 (he has finally, blessedly, graduated past thinking he's in his 20s). Then a weekend of yard work and deep-cleaning happens, and our bodies file a very strongly worded complaint.

The mind is willing. The knees are weak.

My Tow-Headed, Sassy, Never-Say-No Baby is Getting Married

I keep coming back to this: why is this milestone hitting me harder than her high school graduation? Her college graduation? I think I know the answer now. Those milestones were things we guided her toward, checkpoints on a path we helped lay. But this one is entirely hers. She looked at her life, at this person, at this future, and said: yes, this is what I want.

We raised her to know herself that completely. I just somehow forgot to picture the moment she'd actually prove it.

And then there's her dad. My husband built a backyard hockey rink so his girls could skate and quietly took the fish off the hook every single time because they absolutely refused to touch them. He has had his toast written for four months. He can't even think about walking her down that aisle without his eyes getting weepy. He is such a good girl-dad. The image of him escorting her in all her frills and lace toward her husband... I genuinely don't have words for that yet.

A Breath Before the Beautiful Chaos

I thought becoming an empty nester was the big one. It was. But this is something else, something that creeps up quietly and then lands on you all at once. A transition. A milestone.

The beginning of a new chapter that I didn't fully see coming, even though I helped write every page that led here.

I have to keep this short today. There are people arriving, food to finish, and at least three things that still need to be hung on a wall. But I needed this moment first. Just a breath. A pause to take it all in before the weekend sweeps us away.

Ready or not, and I'm honestly not sure which I am, here we go.

I will be beyond words proud and happy as the Mother of the Bride.