Early Birthday Wishes

Tomorrow is my Middle Child's birthday. To be more precise, it is her eighteenth birthday, which is, really, of huge significance. When my Oldest turned eighteen, he was still in high school, and didn't leave home for another year. Now, as my MC is turning eighteen, she already has her diploma, and is headed for the door, lease on a new apartment in hand.

It is a scary time for me. On the one hand, I have every confidence in her. She knows how to take care of herself, and has stayed out of trouble for longer than I would have thought possible, had you asked me a few years ago. She has a plan, and the plan is to live with roommates and work for a year, while she decides what she wants to study. She doesn't want a car, because she thinks it is more sensible to save the money she would spend on maintenance and insurance, and live near public transit instead. She has saved every penny she received as graduation gifts, as well as an extremely significant portion of the money she earned working this spring, and she has enough money to keep her afloat for a couple of months, while she gets her bearings. For every question I ask, she has a solid answer.

So why am I so nervous? I think it's because, to me, at least to a degree, she will always be this person:

 

So even though, intellectually, I know she's this person...

 

I'm still a little bit worried about my baby girl, out in the world.  

I'm making up my mind not to fret. I will pray over her, believe for the best, and trust that all the work I put into making a self-sufficient human was not in vain. Happy birthday, baby girl, and I hope the coming year holds all that you want it to hold for you.