Loosening the Reigns

I feel like the older I get, the more paranoid parent I become. I hate it when Lily spends the night away from home and I worry about her almost the whole time. I like it best when she is at home, inside, playing with her toys or watching a movie or playing with her little brother.



But, she wants to be freeeeeeeeeee. She wants to walk into her friends house when I drop her off without me watching her, or she'll glare at me and motion me to drive off. She wants to ride her bike to the stop sign, or even further. She wants to play outside with the neighborhood kids. She even wanted to drink Coke the other day (um, no!)



Lily's almost seven. I wish she wasn't, but she's a big girl now. And even though I want her to still be a baby, I'm loving looking at the world through her eyes. Fixing her own drink and cereal. Holding her brother. Ordering her own food when we go out to eat. Helping me by grabbing diapers when we need them, moving laundry from upstairs to downstairs, taking care of her dog. Making new friends weekly at the ball park. These things make her an adult, in her eyes. And it is really adorable. She is so outgoing and confident, I think its one of my favorite qualities about her, since she is so opposite of me.



So, I've been letting her play outside with her friends, and she's spent the night a few times this summer (with Shane's aunt and uncle and cousins or my mom). I'm loosening the reigns a little bit. And it makes me sad when she doesn't want to ride to the store with me, but I have to realize that if she thinks I'm less cool now, I'll be in for tons more by the time she's 12. Now I see how I got so many Starbucks drinks when I was in high school, it was the perfect way for my mom to spend time with me. I'll have to use that one!