out·growthNoun/ˈoutˌgrōTH/

1. Something that grows out of something else.

2. A natural development or result of something.

Thank you dictionary. Outgrowth...outgrowing is something usually reserved for conversations about children or homes: she outgrew her toddler bed, he outgrew his training wheels, we outgrew this space the moment we moved all our stuff in, you get the idea. It is not a new concept, as the dictionary describes it is simply something growing out of something else: a home, a bed, juvenile habits. What the dictionary lacks however is explaining that outgrowth is painful.

As a child I vividly remember these red patent t-strap shoes. I was 2 maybe 3 and when I outgrew them I would wake up everyday and try to squeeze my feet into them, everyday got worse. I was sad.

I got a dress from Broadbent's in Lehi when I was 8, it was a teal floral number with perfect little tulip sleeves. It was the first dress I remember getting for no reason. It was not easter, there wasn't a sale, I had just gone in with my mother and she let me have it all $23 of it. I wore it to my piano recital the day I broke my arm -for the second of five times-. I was in secret tears the day I slipped it on and not only was it above my knees by I couldn't zip it. It was the prettiest thing I'd owned in my 8 little years of life and outgrowing it was so hard.

Time passes of course and the things we outgrow get more serious and at times more difficult to handle. Remaining is what is easy and safe, outgrowing is frightening and new. I outgrew my ugly stage (i hope), I outgrew cheating at monopoly, I outgrew a boyfriend or two, a fiance or two. As a baby chick grows eventually it will have to push through it's egg's shell. Once out, the chick will be so happy, so fluffy. However for those few minutes that chick is pushing out of it's shell I am sure it is not happy. It is work and it is hard and it sometimes doesn't really seem all that worth the struggle. That is me today...realizing my "shell" is no longer sufficient for me, and pushing through seems hard and I think I might be bit scared because I don't know what the world will look like on the other side.