Legal Adult

As of last Monday, I am the parent of a legal adult. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I mean, inside my brain I still feel the same way I did at twenty-five (although I would hope I’m wiser now that I was then). So how can I have a child that old? Nevertheless, it’s a fact. Daniel has hit eighteen. Last week Monday, I got the first of what will probably be quite a few notifications that I can no longer manage his healthcare information without his consent. He gave his consent, of course, but from here on out, there will be a lot to learn for him as well as for Kevin and I. Our goal as parents has always been to raise capable, self-sufficient human beings and in the next couple of years, we’ll see if we have successfully attained that goal. If nothing else, I’m pretty sure Daniel wouldn’t starve to death or die of the plague, so here’s hoping. 😉

With age comes ease in planning a birthday party and for Daniel’s shindig this year, all I had to do was provide food. I bought pizza and ice cream, talked Daniel through making brownies, then made new brownies when we realized this is one of the few recipes I’ve encountered that totally bombs when made with egg replacer and that some serious cooking chemistry needed to happen (my subsequent experiment in egg-free brownies turned out pretty well). He took care of everything else, even most of the clean-up.

We sang to him at my parents’ house last Sunday and even that was nearly prep free. He felt no need to have a fancy decorated cake and chose one based on flavor-the Swedish swirl cake has been one of his favorites for years.

I’m very grateful that our experimental child (Isn’t the first one always the guinea pig?) is turning out so well. He has learned, and is still learning, many skills that he will need as he steps out into the world on his own. He is beginning to make plans for the future and has, in fact, already been accepted to and received an academic scholarship for his first-choice university. He has worked hard in school and that is paying off for him now. I’m equal parts excited and anxious about what the next few years will bring for Daniel. He is also equal parts excited and anxious, as well he should be. This marks the beginning of a season of change for all of us and hopefully he will still want to counsel with and include us in his future life plans. Ready or not, here comes adulthood.