Yesterday Suzanne is sitting on the sofa putting on her shoes for school, talking about her birthday coming up. She will be 10. This is my baby. There's already one teenager in the house.
"So for my 10th birthday, my expectations are these," she said. "I am going to walk to the bus stop by myself, and I will no longer need bedtime stories."
I made an involuntary whimpering expression. Already? Really?
"Mom." She fixes me with a "get serious" stare. "I am going to be a pre-teen."
This is the kid who used to gnaw on my chin as a baby, when she was teething. I remember saying, "Someday I'm gonna miss those toothless grins." That seems like it was about two weeks ago. Time is ripping by.
