Date night with Munchkin

I guess I will start today with a hearty congratulations to one of my regular readers and devoted IM-buddies; povosgirl is getting married;-) In line with their shared love of the Red Sox, her boyfriend proposed during a game in Baltimore last weekend (they drove down from Connecticut for the weekend). So everyone think good things and send kind wishes to her:-)

I had a hot date last night with Munchkin, which gave us a chance to hang out, debrief on her visit with her brother and talk about a whole bunch of other things. We have had surprisingly little time to do that all summer. I think we actually sat at dinner for about two hours, and then of course spent some more time walking to get dessert:-) Priorities, people!

She really amazes me... she is a remarkable kid. I know, I gush about her all the time, but I am particularly mindful of it today because I noticed how much she has grown up just this summer. I guess mostly I get overwhelmed by her maturity...she handles social and personal interactions like a 30 year old. She broke up with the most recent boyfriend last weekend for a variety of reasons, but didn't make any cheesy excuses. I heard her end of the conversation, and she basically said "I like you and I enjoy spending time with you. But there just doesn't seem to be a real spark so I don't want to pursue being boyfriend and girlfriend anymore."

OK, those are my words, but that was the gist of the discussion. It would have been really easy to blame it on being in different schools or on being in different grades or the difficulty of seeing each other regularly during the school year. But she told me...and these were her words "he is very nice to me and I like him and I would feel terrible lying to him." I guess most thirty year olds aren't even that mature, now that I think of it...

She also let slip to me that she knows her brother was in jail, even though no one told her and we always tried to keep it from her. We actually talked about him a lot, and her read on it was surprisingly similar to mine (and in truth, she may have heard me say this and just be repeating it)...that his fiance is a complete gem and a total sweetheart and is the main reason he has gotten his life in order over the last couple of years. I am not 100% sure where she stands on him to be honest, she is having a hard time articulating exactly what she is feeling at the moment. I will call it "overload" for the time being and assume she will be back to her old feelings soon.

Anyway, I am rambling a bit, I know. But I had a really nice time at dinner, and I notice more and more that she is really turning into a fantastic young lady. She is so incredibly confident in herself and comfortable in her own skin and I am just really, proud of her. And I am happy for her, too...she has been dealt more shit that any kid deserves, and I like to see that she can just enjoy life and do the normal goofy things that girls her age should do.

I just don't remember growing up this fast;-)