15 December 2010

Birthday Girl

Today is Tuffy's 21st birthday.

I guess there has to be some arbitrary age at which people are considered adult, and twenty-one is as good as any. It's not like she's really much different today than she was yesterday. In some respects she's been amazingly adult since she was five years old. In other ways I wonder if she'll ever grow up. But, officially, today's the day.

I don't know what I expected. It seems like a surprisingly unremarkable day. From my perspective, at least, something of an anti-climax.

Maybe I'm a little slow, but it wasn't until I first went into labor, 21 years ago, that I was struck by the terrifying realization that I was about to do something I could never undo. From that point on, I would always be a parent. That's when it became real. At that point, I couldn't possibly imagine her turning 21. Or 18. Or starting school. Heck, I couldn't imagine her ever being big enough to fit into six month size baby clothes. But if time flies when you're having fun, I must've been having a blast.

She's grown up to be a remarkable person -- beautiful, smart, talented, funny... I guess parents always say that about their kids. But she really is. She's athletic, like her dad. Like me, she believes that anything worth doing, is worth doing fanatically. She doesn't much like dogs, so I guess in some ways she's her own little creature.

Seems like we ought to mark the occasion somehow, although I'm not sure we'll even see her today. She was still in bed when we left for work, and she'll be at the gym by the time we get home. Her friends want to take her out to party, even though she doesn't drink.

I've been trying to think back to what I did when I turned 21, but I really don't remember. I know that by that time I had already made a couple of serious life mistakes, ones that Tuffy has thus far managed to avoid. Maybe that's because we were really good parents... but I doubt it.

Happy birthday, kiddo. Happy birthday.

3 comments:

  1. Happy birthday! B4 21 I made a goal of what I wanted to achieve by 21. College, find my life mate, get good job. Unbelievably, I made my goals! I started planning around age 5 though so...
    LOL You ARE a good mom---just look at her.

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  2. What a milestone. You sound so proud, as you should be, but also wistful. Must be so gratifying to watch your youngin' avoid the mistakes you made and unfold into such a solid person. I'd be holding my breath.

    However, this whole business about not liking dogs does lead me to be suspicious about the precision of the stork-drop.

    In any case, happy 21st birthday to Tuffy and the family.

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  3. Watching the circle of life - so cool!
    No dog!!!
    I too had made mistakes prior to 21 since it seems your Tuffy has managed to avoid the pit falls of youth. Take your bow as parents :)

    Sorry this is late but my blog commenting is behind . ... hope Tuffy had a super fantastic Birthday!

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