All Grown Up

In the past you may have read my entries of fear about being the parent of an adult child. I was terrified. I have to say, its not so bad. Our oldest is 18 and hasn't lived here for several months now. I was afraid I wouldn't cope well or be able to function but that just hasn't been the case. Actually, I kinda like it. Don't get me wrong, I still miss her but things have changed. Since she has moved out she has undergone a miraculous transition. She actually misses me too! I speak with her everyday at least once on the phone, because she has called me! She looks forward to coming to visit and wants to spend time with me. I guess I'm not so retarded after all.

Moving out on her own has brought new realizations for her. Things like, food is expensive and $200 is not a realistic price for a dress. She calls me the other night and asks what I'm having for dinner so I tell her. There is silence for a moment on the other end of the phone and I ask if she is OK. She says "Yeah, I'm just remembering the taste of that. No matter how hard I try I cant get these pretzels to taste like that." I ask if the pretzels are her dinner and she confirms that they are. I cant help but stifle a giggle remembering the days of that age where we lived off of ramen noodles and popcorn. When I ask her if she needs money she says no. She has grown to be quite independent.

It still amazes me sometimes, this is the same child who would $20 me to death. The same child who thought I was a horrible parent for not buying $25 steaks on a regular basis, the very same child who thought $100 was not an outrageous amount for me to spend for her to have a designer pair of tennis shoes every 3 months. She tells me about how she saved money here and budgeted there. I guess maybe she did learn something. I watch her in how she conducts her life and cant help but be proud. She goes to work and gives her all, studies hard in school and makes time for her friends. She has really grown up to be an amazing young woman and somehow, somewhere I played a part in that.