When Did My Kids Get So Old????

I got to spend a few hours yesterday afternoon with my good friend Janette and her adorable 18-month-old, Brynna. While Janette and I visited and did some shopping I watched Brynna do all those adorable things children that age do.. smiles, frowns, first words and other ways she communicates (sometimes a girl's just gotta cry to get across she's not happy, right?!), and that absolutely no way to explain-completely Angelic-napping in her carseat :-) And on my way home my thoughts wandered to my own children, as they always do - and I was shocked for a second at how old they are!

Now I've been taking medication for chronic back pain for about 3 years (more to come about that later- I've had a recent 2nd surgery and am MUCH better!) - but I SWEAR I remember every birthday!! When Jeremy turned 16 (Oh My!), when Jordan turned 16 (No WAY!).. then Jeremy turned 18, then Jeremy turned TWENTY-ONE, and then Horrors... my baby turned 18 too. *sigh* I was always a bit melancholy - when these "big" birthdays hit, but VERY proud of the young adults they've become. And I've written some in the past about them... but I want to tell you about what they are doing at the moment.

Jeremy (21) is working for a local school district in their technology department. He loves the work, his co-workers, bosses and the LEARNING!! What a Blessing it is to watch his eyes light up when he tells me (often way over my head) about his day! He even has cute/funny stories about children when he happens to be working in a classroom and hears something really cure (mostly elementary kids - He reminds me that kids really DO say the darn-dest things!). Jeremy's wonderful girlfriend Catherine has begun her first semester at UALR (transferred from our local community college) and is majoring in elementary education. She is a doll and I'm very excited about her pursuing a career as an educator because she has everything it takes to make a great one - and we all know how much we need great teachers!!

Jordan (18) is beginning her second semester at UALR as an Anthropology major. Jordan maintained a 4.0 last semester (Raise The Roof!!) and is paying her way through school with her brains and hard work {ACT scholarship}. Jordan seems to really love college and I am SO glad! She is taking a couple of fascinating courses this semester and I'm really looking forward to hearing about them... forensic anthropology (I am a huge, HUGE Bones fan.. beginning with Kathy Reichs novels), archeology of ancient civilizations (there is a great ancient Egyptian Pharaoh exhibit in Little Rock right now I can't wait to see with her), and Judo (I have no desire to ever 'hip toss' someone.. but I think it will be cool to hear about) :-)