By Maria Duffy. First published on Thursday 29th April 2010. 7 Comments so far.

NOT SO LITTLE ANY MORE!

When I last checked, my eldest daughter was a child – a little girl who loved to dress up in princess dresses, play with barbies and and watch Angelina Ballarina on the tv. She wouldn’t leave the house until her hair was fixed up in two high pony-tails and always liked her toast cut up into soldiers. Yesterday as we shared a mirror to get ourselves ready for her confirmation, I realised that my little princess is turning into a young woman.

The day didn’t start too well as I woke to hear my six year old shout to my 8 year old to “go and look at Mommy. She’s funny and orange!” Yikes! I thought I was quite an expert at applying false tan – obviously not! However, I managed to avert disaster and subdue my orangeness with the help of an exfoliating glove and a lot of elbow grease.

When all six of us were finally ready – polished, buffed, brushed, preened, plucked and shined to within an inch of our lives – we headed off to the ceremony. Now any of you who know about confirmation ceremonies in Ireland will know that usually, with the help of an out of retirement bishop, they can last anything up to two or two and a half hours. Ours began at eleven. At ten past eleven my six year old was lying on the seat chanting “when’s it going to be over, when’s it going to be over?” However, we managed to distract him with the excitement of his missing Nana (long story!) so all was well in the end.

I found the ceremony quite moving. Roisin has a fantastic group of friends who’ve been together since they were four years old. It was both lovely and emotional to realise that these girls had practically turned into women overnight. Just where does the time go?

The day continued with much food and drink, great company and lots of sunshine. As I closed the door to the last guest just before midnight I had an overwhelming feeling of contentment. In my last blog post I moaned and groaned about the trials and tribulations of family life. Now I’m sure I’ll moan again another day but for now I’m counting my blessings. No matter what else happens in my life – whatever disappointments or rejections I face – I have a wonderful husband, four great children and lots of friends to help me through it all. I wish I could bottle up this feeling for use on a bad day because it sure feels good.

Maria x

7 comments so far

  • ‘I’m sure I’ll moan another day but for now I’m counting my blessings’ <- Lovely.
    You're both very beautiful. What a gorgeous photo of you together to treasure… xx

  • Hi Maria, found you via Barbara, lovely post and I am too having a confirmation next weekend and am completely opting out and just having a small lunch out, I totally admire you doing it from home. Nice to meet you.

    • Thank you for your lovely comment, Brigid. I think we wind ourselves up far too much over these things. I hope your confirmation goes well. I’m sure you’ll have a lovely day. My other daughter is making her first holy communion in two weeks also so I’ve had a busy year. M x

  • Hi Maria, I found your blog via Brigid. Loved your post. Brought me back to my first child’s confirmation in Ireland. All the buffing and polishing and trying to get two younger boys and a daughter to the church as clean as possible. These are the days we all cherish. Like you say, if only we could bottle it.

    • Thanks Anne. We get so caught up in these things, don’t we? At the end of the day, does anyone really notice if one of the children has spilt juice on his top or if one of the towels in your bathroom is a little askew? We’re our own worst enemy. Maria x

  • Hi Maria

    This is a beautiful photo and Roisin has grown into a beautiful young woman. You have a beautiful family inside and out.
    I still remember the day Eoin was born! Time flies so fast.

    Take care
    Rach

    • Thanks Rachel. Didn’t she look lovely? I can’t believe we’re at the stage where she’s borrowing my make-up! I remember the fact that you were en route to Ireland when Eoin was born (thirteen and a half years ago!) and had a lovely blue disney outfit for him – not knowing if it was a girl or boy! I wish we could freeze time! Maria x

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