OMG!!! Libby is 16…

     I do not feel old today. Although, maybe I should, however, I had a relaxing day Saturday. Usually when a niece,  nephew,or young person gets married, I feel a bit aged…(And maybe a tad bit over-served) The wedding was not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, as I have an aversion to weddings that is similar to funerals…I love receptions, though!!! Imagine that? However, I much prefer to never go to a dry wedding reception again. But, hey, it was not my day…Congrats to the Bride and Groom….May married life be Good to Andy and Meryl and God Bless!!!

     HOWEVER, The big news this week, not to over shadow a wedding but really, in my little slice of the world, the little girl that used to fall asleep on the half mile ride to school, turned 16. That’s like 2 and 2/7th dog years!!! Seriously, she could not stay awake for five minutes in a car. Now she is old enough to drive. Or at least take her drivers test…soon…VERY SOON!!!

Happy 16TH Birthday!!!!

     Pictures!!! This is a historic occasion, as I have never included a picture in a blog, but there is a first time for everything. Just like a wedding, a funeral and a sixteenth birthday. The guys at Mancave sang a rousing rendition of happy birthday, also a first, to have a girl included in the super secret happenings of the sacred rites of Mancave. (Yeah, RIIIGHT!)

     So the little girl that used to nap on the way to kindergarten is now going to drive. I cannot stop the slight shudder that has gone up my spine. She is still my baby! The same little girl that told me one morning as she was dancing in front of a mirror sans clothes and said, “ I am not naked, I am wearing a sock!”, as she was supposed to be getting dressed for school. Looking back, I was ill prepared to face this little bundle of trouble. How tough can it be? I used to think, she’s just a little girl…

     Opinion flash!! For some reason, the ideas used in training a puppy do not work with a child. For one they can talk back and for another they have a piecing banshee like voice that they use to attempt to manipulate the situation. When two headstrong personalities collide, there is only one winner, but still it is a matter of choosing your battles. There are other reasons as well, but for the sake of expediancy, let's not go there.
     You also cannot simply put a 6 year old in a training crate. Well, admit it we all have WANTED to put our children in  a training crate (doggie den), but the powers that be may frown on that... She can put herself in there, and did on occasion, but the opposing thumb thing and the higher intellect of a child as opposed to a dog makes the locking mecahnism easily defeatable.

     Headstrong and full of piss and vinegar, she can still try my patience. Especially when driving. She actually drove to the wedding yesterday. Roxy was stressed, Libby was driving, and me, I was praying like I was a leper on my deathbed. We get there with the car in one piece and our bodies unscathed, but not without a few years shaved from my allotted life span. But again, I thank God…I sat in the backseat, as the patience is much better back there for some reason…

     The same little girl that wanted to ride the trolley in St. Augustine, FL, and was told by an inexperienced father, that we would ride in the blue trolley. The blue trolley was actually the van we rode to Florida in, so if you can imagine the screeching histrionics that ensued, multiply the sound and duration by ten and it would be close to the chaos. Hey, I STILL think that was funnny... However, I learned something, but because I am an Idiot, I did not apply the lesson immediately.

     A few hours after the blue trolley ordeal, we had the mall fiasco. I thought that the bansheeism was exorcised from her system, but no such luck. It is amazing that the refractory period for bansheeism is so slight...I really have yet to figure out the catalyst to the whole mental meltdown, but I am sure that the length of time awake had an influence. Well that and did I Mention she is headstrong?

     She is growing up. And I am at a loss as to how to reach her. My emotionality, stunted by the Y chromosome, is ill prepared for a young woman. Bull headed, as I am, I do not like to butt heads with her. I usually can come to some kind of compromise, but sometimes my gut reaction to lay down the heavy handed punishment gets the better of me. And as a parent, I am still learning, because she is still growing. There is only one alpha dog in this den. She will be her own alpha dog some day. but for now, I am alpha...
     And at least she is not dating, that I know of. It may be to her chagrin that she does not have a boy that follows her around like little Tucker, but I am Thankful. The last thing I want to deal with right now is some guy with an abundance of testoterone sniffing around our den...In my eyes, She is still my baby...

     The little girl that cut her hair, cut the dogs hair and cut the bed sheet, but swore up and down that she did not do it is going to have a license. BTW, we did find the scissors under her pillow. Imagine that.

     The little girl that I coached, albeit terribly, from u-6 thru u-12 in AYSO is going to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting operator’s arena. God help her and them… Selfishly, I pray mostly for her.

     My little girl is now about ready to take one of the most important steps of her young life. She is about to experience the freedom of driving. ON HER OWN!!! Without adult supervision. And I AM SCARED! She’s still a little girl!! She is not really that old is she? Yes, Bruce she is and man up and accept it.

     I was not fearful when Chris started driving. Call it MCP bravado, or whatever, but my fear was lessened. Maybe it was simply because it was new and he was a boy, and because I was naive. Well, and chauvinistic.

     While I am sure she knows I love her, I am unsure that I convey it enough. She is a wonderful child and neither of my step-children has disappointed me. For that I am tremendously thankful. I love them both. And am proud of them, but on this day, I am proudest of her. For today, she steps one step closer to the danger zone, one step closer to moving on, one step closer to being the woman that I want her to be.

     Time catches up to all of us, even the Pan that I am, realizes I will not be young forever, and that neither will my little girl be forever 6. Letting go, while difficult is my right of passage to insure her right of passage. I know she will be fine. I think she can stay awake long enough to get the car out of the garage and to the store, infinity and beyond…She will handle it. So, I keep repeating this mantra, “She will be fine.” I have been saying it for a long time, but now I must believe it.

Just another day in paradise