Big Little Girl

I have a daughter that just turned three.
At just slightly over three feet tall and 33 pounds, it never ceases to amaze me how fast my child is growing.
And she should.  We feed her healthy meals and limit her junk food intake, much to the chagrin of my parents, who ply her with treats at virtually any given moment.
The point is, she's a healthy child.  Very healthy.
And she continues to be a head-turner everywhere she goes.
Not just with adults, either.
My wife and I were in a home improvement store just days ago, pricing fixtures for the half-bath remodeling job we're doing.
We ran into a colleague of mine who works at the NBC-TV affiliate in Pittsburgh, and with whom I interact frequently.  She was immediately smitten with Savannah, who was just eating it up.
But that's not the story here.
A few minutes later, a little girl, who looked to be about Savannah's age, walked up to her.
Savannah usually wears her trademark waist-length brown/blonde hair up.  Mostly in a ponytail, as it was that day.
The little girl told Savannah how much she liked her ponytail.  She herself had shoulder-length hair at best.
Savannah thanked her and the pair immediately struck up a conversation, as the little girl's mother came walking up.
We learned the little girl's name was Deanna, and that she was almost four years old.
As we all stood at the paint counter, we noticed the two new-found friends leaning on the counter as we were waiting for service.
The physical differences between the pair were very noticeable.
Standing next to each other, Savannah had a good two or even three inches of height over Deanna, and a much more solid bone structure, probably outweighing her by five pounds, maybe more.
And Savannah's almost a year younger than Deanna.
It makes me wonder just how big my little girl is going to grow up to be.
Even taking Savannah for bike rides in her wheeled carrier is getting to be a lot these days.
Margie found this out the hard way during a bike ride this past spring.
Though she never stated it directly to me, she could never understand why I lagged behind on bike rides while towing the carrier.  She can't be that heavy, right?
Wrong.
One day, she offered to tow the carrier behind her own bike.
After repeated denials, stating that I was all right, I finally gave in and let her do it.
I would be lying through my teeth if I said I didn't stifle a slight grin at what was to come.
My wife does work hard at staying active and physically fit.  But even for the best of us, to do this is a bit of a challenge.
She never offered to do it again.
This is a good example of how apathy gives way to sympathy.
Usually when our children 'grow up so fast', it's usually referring to intellect first, physically second.
I have both going on here.
And hopefully I can keep her in line before she gets bigger than me.


NEXT WEEK:  Quest for Fun