November 10, 1999
DOWN HOME:
Birthdays remind dad,
these are good ol' days
___Sometimes, I feel like Peter Pan in reverse. You remember the story of the boy who didn't want to grow up. Well, I'm not so sure I want my kids to grow up.
___The feeling usually creeps up on me this time of year, which is Birthday Week in the Knox household. Lindsay will turn 16 and Molly will become 13 in the span of three days.
___It seems like only last night we sat awake through the wee hours, waiting for Lindsay to give up the womb and wriggle her way into the big ol' world. And it seems like only thismorning I woke up 3-year-old Lindsay and dropped her off at the neighbors' while Joanna timed the contractions that counted down Molly's arrival.
MARV KNOX
Editor
___Some memories never fade, thank God. Miraculous moments of birth can be recalled and savored over and over again, especially at birthday time.
___The girls and I have our moments, of course, just like every father and daughters. Many times, I've identified with the greatest line from "The Cosby Show." Children are crying and fighting and fussing, and Cliff (Bill Cosby) looks at his wife, Claire (Phylicia Rashad) and asks, "Do you think they'll leave the house before we die?"
___Ironically, I felt this way the most acutely when their departure was most remote. Like when they were little kids.
___The scenario usually was the same: Lindsay utilized her three-year advantage by whipping up on her "baby" sister with words. Molly, still learning to speak, would give up on argument and let her teeth or little fists do the talking. Next thing you know, they're both wailing and pointing fingers, and even Solomon in all his wisdom couldn't get to the bottom of the spat.
___And I wondered how long, Oh Lord, until they would graduate.
___But now they're usually pretty good friends to each other and wonderful companions to their mother and me. In fact, they almost never fight, pinch, bite or spit. Just as soon as you get them housebroken and presentable in public, their birthdays start flying by.
___Seems like every-other month we're blowing out candles. We're starting to talk about college like we used to discuss T-ball, Barbies and kindergarten.
___So, this year, Lindsay will celebrate 16 years with visions of car keys dancing in her head. And Molly will ponder the wide-open possibilities of teenagerdom. And their dad will wonder why the years fly and where his "baby" girls have gone.
___Of course, I wouldn't hold them back, even if I could. God has made them to grow and mature, and I'd be the most selfish lout in the world if I stopped them for a second.
___So, I'll sing "Happy Birthday" and mean it. And I'll thank God for every minute of these wonderful years. They are "the good old days," and I'm blessed to know it even as I live them.
__
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