Holding Hands

We went to Lake Placid over the weekend.  A spur of the moment family getaway.  After it was booked I contemplated canceling it.  It seemed like a good idea at the the time but did I really want to pack and get someone to watch the dog and put off the laundry and house cleaning... My daughter was excited at first but as the weekend drew near other opportunities for fun with her friends were lurking.  She was good about it and I could tell that there was part of her that wanted to be excited about going away with her family and part of her that wanted to be the typical tween and complain about it.  In any event, we went.

The resort was fantastic.  An indoor pool, a heated outdoor pool, fishing for the boys & shopping for the girls.  It would be hard for a kid not to have fun and still I wondered - was Julia happy to be here or did she wish she was home?  Two years ago or even a year ago I wouldn't have had a moments hesitation that she'd be completely happy to be there.  But as I navigate these emotional tween years I'm not sure about anything when it comes to Julia.

Saturday night we decided to go to the movies in the old theatre on the Main street.  Since we couldn't come to a consensus on what movie we all wanted to see, we split up-the boys went to see "The Terminator" and Julia and I opted for Disney's "Up".  We found a seat near the front and watched as several groups of kids, a lot of them Julia's age, gathered in groups.  Again I couldn't help thinking to myself  that she wished she was with her friends and not her Mom.  The lights dimmed and the movie started and then something completely unexpected happened.  She reached over and took my hand.  My soon-to-be-twelve-year-old was holding my hand in a public place.  

I was stunned.  I was shocked.  But most importantly I was unbelievably thankful.  I will cherish that time and hold onto it forever.  She is still my little girl.