“50 First Dates…” Today At Prodigal Magazine!
Today, i am excited to share an article I wrote for Prodigal Magazine. If you haven’t subscribed to this site yet, you are missing out. There are some fabulous bloggers that run it and post terrific content every day. Read it here.
50 First Dates with My Autistic Son
Last week, I put on my strict daddy face and stared down my daughter from across the table. “You’re nine years old today. This has gone on far enough. You must STOP growing!”
She grinned back at me and repeated the word “nine” at least seventy-four times. I slumped into a puddle of self pity and shut my ears.
It is a game we have played for years. When Jenna turned two, she traded her onesies for princess dresses, and I missed the good ole days. Not long after, the dresses were nixed for cowgirl jeans. Before I knew it, the whole thing spiraled out of control, and now I hardly recognize my little girl. She’s putting feathers in her hair, drinking mochas, writing grown up sounding stories and obsessing over Phil Mickelson (Yes, the golfer. I’m as puzzled by this as you are.)
So I tell her I want her to stop growing up. But I am lying.
Because as hard as it is to watch your kids grow older, it is infinitely harder to watch them stay the same age.
Jason Hague 