Just Two Teenagers. . . Again

Well, my life must have gotten easier today because I'm back down to two teenagers.  Actually, I'll have to admit that I've quite enjoyed my kids as teenagers.  Yes, they do test the boundaries and can be more than a little self-centered, but they also ask really interesting questions and are quite fun to be around.  Anyway,  Rachel left her teen years behind today and reached the ripe old age of 20.   Sadly, she is not with us to party it up.  She is back down in Utah, celebrating her entry into a new decade by starting her summer job at Aspen Grove.  Welcome to responsibility, kid!

We did have a small family party on Sunday night.  We were lucky enough to have her at home for a week in between the end of winter semester and the start of her summer job.  She was super busy working on an independent study class that she needs to have finished before she can apply to the accounting program, but we tore her away from her studies a couple of times for golf, a track meet, some soccer games, and the like.  (Her little brothers "guilt-ed" her into it--YES!)

It's been fun to watch my kids grow up.  They have become such good friends over the years, and it's nice to watch them turn into adults who actually like each other.  Karen and Rachel are now quite good friends, and that transformation has, at times, seemed like a miracle to me.  (They had some pretty tense times in high school.  Just ask either one of them.)  This past week, Adam, Matt, and Rachel just hung out a lot, and I loved hearing them laugh and spend time together.

I'm grateful for all of my kids, but today I am especially thankful for Rachel.  She has a delightfully quirky sense of humor, a kind heart, an infectious laugh, and a quick mind.  I love to be around her, and I'm thankful that my sweet baby girl has grown up to be a capable, responsible adult.  I really wish I could be with her on her birthday, but I suspect that being with her on her big day will, from this point on, be more the exception than the rule.  (It's good that kids grow up, right?)  Happy Birthday, Rachel!  Love you lots and lots!