Parenting an adult. That's what I'm now doing. Emily turned 18 yesterday.
I thought I was ready, but I'm not. I have a feeling I'll never be ready for my kids to grow up. This was the first of many milestones happening this year that I'm not ready for. College acceptances are trickling in, then there's deciding where she'll go, finding a roommate, going to orientation, and then leaving. And before all that, she has a month-long trip to Germany. And high school graduation. And final awards ceremonies. Oh my god, I have to stop. I only cried yesterday when she wasn't around and I don't want to trigger tears again. It's a lot of change and a lot of letting go and I'm not good at either of those. So let's just look at some pictures of my adult daughter, shall we?
She requested only two things - a night spent with her closest girlfriends and a separate family party. So that's what we did. I don't have pictures of the girls partying in our basement from Saturday night because who wants a mom hanging out at a friend party, right? But I did grab the camera for the family party yesterday.
Daddy needed some help lighting ALL those candles so Uncle Jason stepped in to help. I love the expression on her face as they were counting out the candles to make sure there were enough.
And then there's the "Mom, how many pictures are you going to take?" look.
I'm so happy with the way her cake turned out! She's double-majoring in history and political science this fall and just might be the first politician in the family. So a flag cake was totally in order.
And then, while everyone else watched Sherlock (again!), she got out her laptop and registered to vote.
She was more than a little excited!
Her first step in participating in this country's political system. The beginning of one of her dreams.
And I guess that's kind of how you parent an adult. Help them when they ask and then just sit back and let them chase their dreams.
Happy Birthday, Emily Grace! We love you and are so honored to watch you make your dreams come true!
