Both our daughters are in their 20s now and we all have survived the varied adventures that come with the teen years.
We'll tell the story of Jessica's first date locking his keys in a running car in our driveway forever. There are a few more we'll laugh about when the statute of limitations is up.
There have been boyfriends we liked, loved, didn't care for and hated. Our opinions rarely matched those of the girls.
It's easy, from the exhalted perch of adulthood, to sort out infatuation, admiration and that old favorite hot-and-bothered. It's not always easy to keep your mouth shut.
In this small town, it's impossible not to run into exes who once burned bright. A couple of them make wonderful ex-boyfriends and I'm always glad to see them. A couple others have left town and that's probably a good thing for both of us.
But they've all been rites of passage, like the extra ear piercings Jen has or the belly button ring Jess acquired her first semester away. You know then it's not a great idea, but since it's the most important thing in the world to them at that moment you're glad it will only leave a small scar.
For the last two years Jen has been extremely low-key when it comes to dating. There were guys she liked and guys that seemed to like her a lot more than she cared about them.
Back in July she started talking about a guy who worked in the group she volunteered for at a local Vacation Bible School. There was a smile in her voice I hadn't heard before.
Between both girls we've probably met at least 50 boyfriends/dates over the years. We know the drill. Nick was different from day one.
Just as things started getting interesting, we all headed up to New York for two weeks and Nick had to leave for college.
But that was hardly the end of it.
I'm surprised our cell phone provider hasn't revoked the "free minutes after 9 p.m." clause. When we got home we started seeing more of our daughter than we had since she got her driver's license. With Nick gone, she stays home.
She's not pouting, she's not mooning -- she's happy. She works on her school work, does things with us and talks to Nick after nine.
Early last week she confided that she thought Nick might surprise her and come home for the weekend. As the week wore on, she decided it must be wishful thinking on her part . She mentioned more than twice that it would be another three weeks before she got to see him again.
Thursday night, I was taking a rack of ribs from the oven to the grill when Jen brought me the phone. She handed it to me without recognizing the voice of Nick's mother.
As Jen stepped back into the house I heard Pam say that Nick had just arrived home, but thought he would surprise Jen at school the next day and spend the evening with his family.
She suggested we meet for dinner at a local restaurant and surprise them both. I knew at that moment that Pam, whom I had never met before, saw what I was seeing.
I gladly ditched the ribs for another night as we concocted a story about being out of gas for the grill and needing Jen's help picking out a gift at the mall.
The surprise dinner was easy and comfortable. We love our kids. They love each other. We invited Pam and Ed to come to a Mardi Gras party planned for our house Saturday night and Pam brought the Shrimp Creole.
This is a different chapter for all of us. I make no projection or have no personal stake in how the story will end. I only know that there is real joy in seeing your child this happy.



Copyright 2004 Judi Griggs