Getting Older

I'm getting older. 

I often struggle to notice.  

I'm with myself all the time, 

I know myself better than anyone.  

The thing I always fail to know 

is how much I've grown. 

I don't notice until I think about it. 

My thoughts have changed.  

My clothes start getting too small.  

The stuffed animals I used to need 

now sit alone. 

I'm losing the imagination of the little girl I used to be, 

And for the longest time, I had no idea. 

I accept this 

Only because I have to. 

I can't slow it down, 

and I can't stop it completely. 

I am growing. 

There are things about my younger self 

that I'd like to keep.  

I want to keep her sense of humor, 

the way she can laugh at everything.  

I'd like to keep the lessons I learned from my grandma, 

the strength and courage I learned from my mom.  

But most of all 

I want to keep her kindness, 

the thing everyone I love has always 

been so proud of me for. 

Growth is constant 

even when I'm not getting any taller.  

I have grown. 

And I'm still going.