She's growing up so fast

Audrey will turn thirteen this summer. She is barely ever home anymore. When she is, she prefers to be in her room, reading or listening to music. She seems so much more mature than me, when I was barely a teenager. She checks her grades online and does any/all extra credit she can to boost her grades. She and I can almost share clothes, { if I was cool enough }, and we do share shoes. She makes her own lunches. Packs her own bags.  If need be, at the age of twelve, she could likely find herself a job and an apartment... and come home for the weekends to have dinner with her parents. { sigh }

 Audrey (right) and her friend, Sam

Once again, I am reminded how Audrey is so much not like me. Yesterday, for example, she had track practice right after school until 4:30pm.  She was dropped off, ate dinner, and left again at 5:45pm for soccer practice, which ended at 7:30pm. She then rushed home, and got ready to head to an overnight with her youth group at church at 8:30pm. While she is there, she was planning what to do today... planning that has her now at the rec center, swimming and doing whatever until dinnertime, when she is being forced to be home to babysit her brothers. { Just typing her social schedule for the past 24 hours has me exhausted. } 

Did I tell you Audrey is going on a mission trip this summer with her youth group? For a week. { sigh, again } Proud of her for wanting to go. She will spend a week with about thirty other kids from our church in Chicago. { She is very excited about the shopping possibilities in Chicago, although, I doubt those opportunities will exist more than what an evening can offer. } 

Essentially, the kids will be doing manual labor every morning - helping to improve the facilities of a church - and then in the afternoon, they will be running a Vacation Bible School (VBS), for the children of the church. She has chosen to be on the team that will be teaching during the VBS.  It is going to be an awesome experience. 

My sister, who has a daughter in high school and is preparing for college applications, reminds me often that I shouldn't be so sad about Audrey growing up. After all, my sister has reminded me, that is why we are parents and why we put the blood, sweat and tears into parenting... to teach our children to become independent so that when they reach adulthood, they can enter it with confidence and a sense of responsibility. 

Excuse me while I go lay in bed and cry now. 

{ Do you know once she is gone, I am left with only boys at home? I bet there will be some space for me in her dorm room. Sure of it. } 

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My goal is #25.  I have dropped from #30 to #31 overnight.
How could THAT have happened?
I am relatively certain there is a blogging bully conspiracy going on.