Growing Up So Fast
Posted on: February 21, 2020
- In: Family | Memories
- 68 Comments
The youngest member of my immediate family, my great-granddaughter, just turned ten. Ten! How did that happen? She is an amazing kid, wise beyond her years, kind, smart, funny, hardworking and an animal lover. Even though I don’t see her often, I have a close bond with her. She even goes to the school I attended all those years ago, and she is an Amanda fan. I spoke to her on her birthday, which made my day. Here are just a few pictures of her through the first ten years of her life. Some taken by me and others by her mom and other family members.
“Don’t try to make me grow up before my time…”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
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68 Responses to "Growing Up So Fast"
February 21, 2020 at 8:37 am
Terrific photos and celebration…thanks so much for sharing with all of us!
February 21, 2020 at 8:44 am
Thanks, John! I live far away from her so this is my way of celebrating.
February 21, 2020 at 8:58 am
She is such a happy child. Is she as tall as you? Oh my…
February 21, 2020 at 9:17 am
Congratulations. I’m sure you’re a great grandma, but are you certain you’re a great-grandma? I find that hard to believe. I imagine she’s quite proud of you.
February 21, 2020 at 11:19 pm
I know. We have our babies early in our family so, yes, I´m a great-grandmother. She is my mom´s great-great-granddaughter! She was delighted when I came to her school to do a presentation.
February 21, 2020 at 10:39 am
I can’t believe my baby is 10 years old and already entering puberty. It honestly feels like yesterday I was dropping her off at Pre-K. It may not feel like when you’re raising them 24-7 but the time does go way too fast.
February 21, 2020 at 11:20 pm
Thanks for stopping in. You know first hand how fast it goes. Enjoy your ten-year-old. They are sp precious.
February 21, 2020 at 11:56 am
She is precious – and what a smile! There is something about that first granddaughter (and in your case GREAT granddaughter – can’t believe it) that blooms such intense love in our hearts. We are bonded with them forever. xo
February 21, 2020 at 11:22 pm
I know. She is so precious and I love her smile. I know what you mean, I had that same feeling with both of my granddaughters and now my great-granddaughters. That connection is so strong. My mom feels the same way.
February 21, 2020 at 12:25 pm
Your great-granddaughter is gorgeous.
This is such a great reminder of how quickly time flies…especially as we age. I have now been retired for five years. FIVE! How did that happen?
February 21, 2020 at 12:30 pm
You will probably see a great great grandchild !
February 21, 2020 at 11:25 pm
I am sure I will, all being well. My mom has two great-great-grandaughters. We are a lucky family to have 5 generations alive. (My son is missing from the generation picture.)
February 21, 2020 at 1:10 pm
The best testimonial of all is when your granddaughter likes your main character and books. It’s particularly sweet that she goes to your old school.
Near the end of my career, I got the pleasure of teaching quite a few second-generation students. It was pretty wild to have a parent conference with someone who used to be one of my students.
February 21, 2020 at 11:30 pm
That must have been special. A friend went to see a doctor, only to find it was a guy she taught at one time. Yikes! I went back to my old school and did a presentation to my great-granddaughter´s class. It was quite a nice feeling. I wrote about it here: https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/2019/01/25/back-to-the-future/
13 | Victoria Zigler (@VictoriaZigler)
February 21, 2020 at 4:36 pm
Happy birthday to your great-grandaughter. I think it’s cool that she goes to your old school, and awesome she loves your books.
February 21, 2020 at 11:31 pm
I I think it is so cool as well. I went back to the school and did a presentation. A super cool experience.
February 21, 2020 at 5:26 pm
So sweet!! Fun to see the development and progression photos. Happy birthday!
February 21, 2020 at 5:50 pm
Beautiful photos Darlene the bond between you is there for all to see.
February 21, 2020 at 10:55 pm
Lovely pictures of your great granddaughter’s first ten years. You really don’t look old enough to have a ten-year-old great granddaughter 🙂
February 21, 2020 at 11:34 pm
Thanks. I don´t feel old enough either, and many will say I don´t act old enough to have a ten-year-old great-granddaughter. That´s what happens when you start early.
February 22, 2020 at 12:37 am
Hi Darlene, How lovely to see your great (!?) grand-daughter’s progress from baby to ten-year-old. A real sweetie. xx .
February 22, 2020 at 12:40 am
Yup, her mom is my granddaughter. A real sweetie for sure. I hope they come to visit someday and you can meet both of them. xo
February 22, 2020 at 1:17 am
Bless! Happy 10th Birthday to your bright, bubbly and beautiful great-granddaughter! You both look so wonderfully happy together and can just imagine you both getting up to mischief! 😀
February 22, 2020 at 2:15 am
We do have fun together. The thing with grand and great-grandchildren is you can get up to mischief with them and it’s OK!! They are so wonderful. xo
February 22, 2020 at 2:49 am
How the years fly by! She is growing into a beautiful young lady. wonderful to have such a fan of your Amanda series. Such a special thing to be able to share with her.
February 22, 2020 at 3:05 am
To think I started writing this series when her mom (Amanda) was 12! I now get ideas from her. She is so much fun to be around, but I don’t need to tell you about that.
February 22, 2020 at 3:27 am
She’s beautiful- you must be so proud!
February 22, 2020 at 4:02 am
I am so proud of her. She helps her mom and dad with their pet boarding business and cooks and cleans as well. She is such a good kid.
February 22, 2020 at 3:49 am
Such lovely photographs, Darlene. What fun to have a granddaughter.
February 22, 2020 at 4:08 am
I am so lucky. I have two granddaughters, two grandsons, and two great-granddaughters. These are my son’s kids and grandkids. From one son I got all these amazing people in my life!
February 22, 2020 at 4:04 am
How lovely to have been part of her life and to know that you have so much more to come with her as she grows into a young woman.. xx
February 22, 2020 at 4:09 am
Even though we have never lived near each other, and now I’m even further away in Spain, we have a great connection. I am hoping she comes to visit me here one day.
February 22, 2020 at 8:24 am
I am sure she will Darlene.. and that will be some visit I am sure…hugsx
February 22, 2020 at 4:49 am
Thank you for your photo story. Your grand-daughter has an adorable smile – and a face open to adventure. My youngest grand is twelve, and I too wonder where the years have gone. They do indeed grow up so fast.
Also, she helps sell Amanda books. Wow!
We’ve talked about Jenna helping promote my books, perhaps wearing a Mennonite prayer cap, but it’s not gone beyond the talking stage.
Great post, Darlene, and another deposit in the family history bank.
February 22, 2020 at 4:53 am
They grow up so fast, especially when you don’t see them very often. That would be so cute if your granddaughter would be willing to come along and wear a prayer cap at one of your signings. I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
February 22, 2020 at 10:55 am
Just wonderful, Darlene. Our grandchildren grow up way too fast. She is delightful. 🙂
February 22, 2020 at 1:19 pm
They certainly grow up very fast. She looks adorable.
February 24, 2020 at 12:04 pm
Wonderful photos, Darlene. It must be wonderful to be a great grandmother and watch this generation grow in a world that in many ways is so different from our childhoods, yet you can still develop a bond. Kudos to you!
February 24, 2020 at 7:11 pm
It is amazing. In fact, you will find you can be in some ways closer to your grandchildren and their children and have more in common than your own children. This child has so much in common with me, she lives on a farm, goes to my old school, loves the same books, enjoys cooking and is an animal lover. It has been a pleasure to watch her grow up.
February 24, 2020 at 8:11 pm
Aww what a sweetie – you’ve got some great photos, and some lovely ones of you both together to treasure forever, Darlene. She looks like a happy girl, I hope she stays that way forever. Not sure when her 10th birthday is but Happy Birthday in advance!
Caz xx
February 24, 2020 at 9:10 pm
Thanks so much!! I will treasure those pictures forever. She is usually a pretty happy girl. Her birthday was on Feb 18th but accepts best wishes at any time.
February 26, 2020 at 5:46 am
She looks so lovely, Darlene! And she is a lucky girl to have such a caring Grandmother.
February 26, 2020 at 7:51 am
Thanks, Shelley. I love her so much and we always have fun together when I see her. xo
March 20, 2020 at 5:32 am
How lovely to have such a wonderful family and such a beautiful granddaughter. I never got to know my great grandparents, and my grandpa died with I was a baby, so I knew one grandpa, but not the other half of my family on my dad’s side ever. That is beautiful, and I can tell that the nature of your books is just fantastic, and something young children and even older ones would so enjoy. One of the things I learned in my tutoring of illiterate adults is that most of them have never had the beautiful childhood experiences, anyone to read to them, or anything similar to a normal childhood. There are so many reasons why but it all boils down to the same thing. People love to be read to, at any age. So thank you for fgiving people something that they can read, be read to, and learn from. You are a wonderful person!
March 20, 2020 at 7:49 am
Thank you so much, Anne, for these very kind words. I agree, without being read to as children many adults have issues. It is the best thing parents can do for their children. I love it when I hear that the children and adults read my books together. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. xo
Darlene Foster's Blog 
February 21, 2020 at 8:31 am
They grow up very quickly, in a blink they are taller, stronger and smarter than us!
February 21, 2020 at 8:43 am
Too true!