what makes me a tiny bit sad

That's my eldest baby girl. This was her boyfriend. Was. That's okay. He's a nice kid. They were clearly A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. together. He's about as cute as they come. But after nine months it's over and that's okay. She wasn't whatever she needed to be in this relationship. I'm really, really proud of her for the way she deals with this stuff. There's really no drama and BS with her. I wish I could have dealt with my teen years with this aplomb. I failed at it miserably. All the while, I was a miserable human being. She's got down the "be a miserable human being part"--at least when it comes to the way she treats her family--but she seems to do really well with the handling other teens part. I'm proud of this. Not everything is easy for her. Almost nothing else is. Ask her biology teacher. Or her algebra teacher. Or her theology teacher. Sigh.

But here's what makes me a tiny bit sad. I think she broke this boy's heart. He used to call her and sing loves songs with his guitar. I heard it once. He wasn't particularly talented. But wow. What I would have given to have a boy sing to me! On Facebook (he invited ME . . . her MOM . . . to be his friend), he posted a message following their break-up: "The thing that sucks about being single is that you don't have anyone to love." Wow. What a boy. So it makes me sad that he's hurting. I don't like to see anyone hurting.

But, at the same time, I rejoice in my girl-chick. After the break-up she said, "I think I'm just going to be single for awhile. It's okay to be single." Amen. I wish I had been so brave. It was always easier to keep a boy around. And later she said, "I feel lonely without him but I'll be okay." Sometimes I can't believe she says these things to me, her mother. I never would have shared with my mom like that.

So today, you get a sad house.