bittersweet thoughts

I was just thinking about my little sister's upcoming birthday, and realized how much maturing she will probably undergo in the next 2 years. She will be 14 next week, and of course, those years in age always catch me off-guard. I still tend to underestimate by a year or two with my three youngest siblings. At any rate, Arianna is the youngest, and for a girl, there is something about the year between 15 and 16 where they really seem to....grow up. For Wesley, it was probably between last year and this that I've seen the greatest change. So, I guess I am giving myself fair warning that I have about one more year of a "little" sister, and then....she'll be a young woman. There is no magical moment we can mark when childhood leaves someone forever. It is really just a series of silent "lasts." The last time we see a certain expression; or see a certain toy played with; or hear a childish expression that is both annoying and endearing. And this will be the last for my set of siblings. Thank God for the new beginnings that follow every good-bye.