Today is Logan's birthday.

He is 18 years old and no longer, legally, a "minor." He is also moving out and in with his sister and her finace. There will no longer be any kids living the house.

For the first half of my life, I was a child growing up in my mother's home. For the second half of my life, I was a mother raising 3 children of my own. I'm still a mother. Once you bring a child into the world, no one can take that title away from you. But my role in the lives of my offspring is changing.

I won't be responsible for the day to day care of the kids, driving them to this, that or the other, making sure homework is done, making sure they get a balanced diet and plenty of exercise, shopping for school uniforms every fall and new play clothes every summer because last year's clothes no longer fit. Waking up in the middle of the night to do "head checks" to see how many of my kids and how may of their friends are sleeping in teh house on week ends, stocking the freezer with enough pizza rolls to feed a small army, refereeing rules disputes between players of D&D games at the dining room table, all of the things I've done, lovingly, over the last 21 years.

Now my job will be to answer the phone at 2:00 in the morning and give advice to my kids for whatever crisis is going on, to patiently wait for them to come to me with announcements of the next big moments in their lives, to advise them about problems at work, with significant others and bills, to help out with car repai bills and the occassional rent payment, and wait for the day I get to be Grandma.

It's just Sam, Monster, the cats and me in the house now. DInners will be for 2 instead of 5 or 6 now. I'll have to learn to halve all of my recipes! LOL

It's a bittersweet feeling when the last kid leaves the house. On the one hand, I am proud of the people they have become and the things they have already accomplished. On the other hand, time flew by so fast and I'm not sure I am ready to let them go into teh big world on their own, but I know I can't hold their hands forever.

So to Logan, I say "Happy Birthday! Good Luck and Take the World by Storm! I will be here when you need me. I love you 'Little Man'!"