The Age of Innocence

Bing.com image search

My daughter spent part of yesterday’s “snow day” joyfully prancing around the house in her frilly pink tutu and bejeweled tiara, which she affectionately refers to as her crown.

“Crowns make people beautiful,” she said to me in a very matter-of-fact manner.

“Yes, that’s right,” I agreed, trying to keep a straight face as I visualized an old and wrinkled queen wearing a crown.

“I guess the crown just doesn’t work for everyone,” I laughed quietly to myself.

As I watched her perfecting the art of twirling in circles while balancing a crown on her head, I wondered when that day will come when she feels too old to play dress up and dance like a princess. Sometimes she tells me she wants to be older. If only she knew that when you are finally old enough to be “older”, you wish you could be younger.

So in that fleeting moment, as she was blissfully waltzing around the living room without a care in the world, with a tinge of sadness, I tried not to think about tomorrow, as tomorrow inevitably always comes whether or not you’re ready for it.