"I don't have time for this, Mom"

Is what Mallie says to me now, when I want to play something she doesn't, when I want to wipe a whisp of hair from her eyes, or especially when I want to shoot her.

"I don't have time for this mom, I'm making you pancakes, because you are sick."

I'm not sick, but now I'm teary eyed because 1) my darling child is tender, sweet, and empathatic beyond her age, and 2) because she is such a KID. A real KID. Not a 'little kid' anymore. You know the true meaning of bittersweet once you have children and see them grow. You want nothing more than for them to grow and flourish....but it is also heartbreaking at the same time. Sigh.....