And Davis, well, he'll be feeling like......

Blair came home for about 24 hours earlier in the week to get her Phi Mu stole that she needed for graduation pictures and the two of us decided to take a quick road trip to get a couple of things we couldn't get around here.  She needed to go to Sephora to pick up some makeup that she'd been wanting to try.  She does love some makeup.  She would eat cereal for a week to work it into her budget if need be.  So, you'll all be happy to know that she will be wearing the same foundation to her graduation that Kate Middleton wore on her wedding day. I don't even know what else to say about that because I don't even live on that planet. 

Then, we headed to look around in a few more stores before heading home.  She helped me look for Mother's Day gifts for both of her grandmothers and then I thought I'd see what I could find for myself.  I don't know why but I thought I needed something new for graduation.  I have the hardest time finding dresses that I like, these days.  And you know I'm not like my daughter.  I have definite color borders over which I try never to cross and there are other boundaries that I have set in place. 

So, she was walking ahead of me through the racks.  "Oh, this one is pretty," she'd say.  "Too bright....I don't want to look like a traffic cone."  "Well, what about this one?  It would look nice on you."  "Can't do sleeveless."  We repeated this back and forth as we worked our way through the dresses.  "Too short."  "Cut too low."  "Pattern is too busy."  "Ugh, well, let's just go ahead and get something black or brown and get out of here," she said in her frustration.  

I've told you before, it's like Zsa Zsa Gabor taking Laverne DeFazio shopping.  I agreed to try on some that were out of my comfort zone and then took some that I preferred along with them to the dressing room.  I called her to come with me so she could give me her expert opinion......and I also thought it wouldn't hurt for her to see how some of those college book smarts play out in real life.......like gravity.....and elasticity.        

So, I tried on dresses and tried on dresses.  She did talk me into a sleeveless dress as she assured me that my arms didn't look bad.  So, she had her say with the sleeves and I had my way with the black.  I do love a black dress and she even admitted that it was the most flattering.  Could be that she would've said anything to get out of being locked in the tiny room with me and the glimpse into her future. 

So, we're headed up to Mississippi State for graduation today.  I don't really have the sad feelings that I had around her high school graduation.  I cried from the middle of April to the end of May that year.  But, this is different.  Maybe because I've gotten used to her being away from home.  Maybe because I see her more as a grown up now than as the child that left here a few years ago.  Whatever the reason, this is a happy place for me as a mother. 

I guess when the nurse places that baby in your arms for the first time, you realize that child is yours to nurture and grow until.......well, this day.  College graduation.  Not that the care and parenting suddenly dry up as they walk across the stage but I do think that parenthood changes there.......from caretaker and guardian to something more like customer support.  That's the way I see her now.  A grown woman who no longer really needs my oversight but who needs a supportive friend as she takes the first wobbly steps into independence.     

From the time Blair first started to talk and was able to express her feelings or show signs of her disposition developing, I knew that God had given her a second helping of personality.  She's been happy from the time she came into this world.  Expressive.  Bubbly.  Bouncy.  I can say that without a smidgen of boastfulness because, well, she didn't get that from Davis or me. 

Face it, we're just not very bouncy.  In fact, we're not really sure she's even ours but we're not giving her back at this point.  What we are sure about is that she's got joy, joy, joy down in her heart and she's brightened all of our years with her beautiful light.  

As she graduates, she'll walk on ahead down the path she's chosen and I'll hang back.  She'll busy herself with the details of her new life and I'll find something else to do with my hands.  She'll take flight.  Solo.  And I'll be here.....honored to be her mother and her friend.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!  See you Monday!