Today, Princess Penelope will embark on her first solo road trip. She wil be making the four hour drive from here to her Dad's house by herself. Theorectically I know that she needs to make these drives before she starts heading to and from college in one short year. However, this is totally freaking me out. She wants to have her car with her when she is down there so she's not stuck at his house bored out of her mind while everyone else is at work. I'm okay with that --- I'm just completely freaked out at the notion of her driving the way down there. And I'm not alone in my freak out. Her step-mom is completely freaked out about it too. The only ones that are 100% okay with this is the Princess herself and her Dad.
I know she's a good driver. I know she's a responsible driver. But that doesn't change that she's also my little girl. And letting her embark on this trip is very hard for me. In my mind's eye I'm still seeing that five year old in an appliqued sundress, with a yellow bow in her hair, clutching her teddy bear on the first day of kindergarten. I'm so not ready for this.
I am right behind you. My girl is turning 15 this year. She will be going to Chi-town with her church group right after her birthday. And right now, she is in Texas on a religious retreat. Sniff.. sniff... when did they grow up!
ReplyDeleteThey grow up SO fast! I think the hardest part was her being truly "on her own" for four hours with the distance between us growing larger every minute. I couldn't control the other cars on the road, or the trucks. Or weirdos in gas stations. Or the weather. Or flat tires. Or car trouble. It was the knowing she had no one but herself standing between her and disaster. Of course the floods, famine and pestilence I imagined thankfully never came. Good luck with the letting go aspect --- it's tough.
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