wallmarkers and growth charts.

my parents were never really into marking how tall my siblings and i have gotten, because making marks on a wall was unthinkable. it was usually pants or shirts that were tell-tale signs that we were physically growing; they would be too tight or too short.
but that other kind of growing up, usually takes a bunch of tiny realizations or gatherings with people to see how "tall" you have become...or how stunted you are.
why such pensiveness? i guess it's because, apart from my siblings and high school friends, i've grown up with another set of family...the st. cinn girls. this afternoon we held our first ever st. cinn bbq/potluck at terri's house and as always, it was fun and with lots of maniacal laughter. but it was different from the other ones we've had since i felt, and im sure the other girls felt it too, a sense of an end.
it's awesome to think that it was because of this parttime job that we are all close like sisters, and that is why i came home feeling weirdly sad...we were all getting old and it is unstoppable- it has begun; we are all moving forward.i know that growth and change happen everyday, but it was so much more imminent and obvious tonight, what with one of us going off to university to live on her own, and another who's going to have her own classroom and reading corner. through their changes in their lives, it made me think of my own future-my excitement to have my own classroom as well and to have in my hands the tiny minds of the grown-ups of tomorrow. and to think that when i first came i was in gr 11: bumbly, stupid and clumsy with the buns, very much slow with the dishes, still wary of others, sort of foolish, not a lot of wisdom just yet, and still need to see a lot of the world- and by world i mean the awaiting experiences. so much have changed and a bit has remained the same: i am now quite an expert with the buns, i now hold, and at times begrudgingly, the key to the store and the responsibility to count cash, but still a bit stupid, a bit clumsy, and i could never have enough wisdom. as well, i have made some of the greatest friends i could ever have. despite the very rude customers and the gruelling clean up (haha), we saw each other through our highs and lows: getting into university and college, falling in love, break-ups, our successes and failures in school, and much more. we are a unique set: some crazier than others, some much more talkative, some quite violent (ahem belinda). we've had so many memorable moments. there was a lot of talking, blasting music, popcorn snacks, christmas dinners, birthday cards, racing to the back away from the penny lady, etc. and now, i'm saying good bye to one of the girls who trained me when i first came, and another to a girl that i've trained myself.
one by one we have begun the trek on our own stretch of road. we are in a sense growing taller, and unlike our growth spurt, this spiritual and interior growth will never stop. our wall markers and growth charts will keep surpassing, and although it's never easy to welcome change, the bond between us girls that grew stronger over the years, will definitely be hard to break.
i love you girls.