happy 21st birthday, Katie!

Who would think we could so thoroughly enjoy a Saturday

spent in a tiny, rural town tucked between Indiana cornfields?

In the middle of winter?

It happened yesterday and is perhaps a combination of a daughter

becoming a young woman before our eyes,

and us settling in to our new role as parents of young adults.

It was a day not out of the ordinary, yet indescribably special.

I brought cupcakes ...

... for Katie to share, with hungry friends like a roommate.

Dad and  daughter cooked up some plans

for Scrabble games via their phones.

We talked over a leisurely lunch at Panera and stopped by a mall.

We've had some rough patches, Katie and me.

That's why this time in our relationship is so sweet.

We talk more as friends than mother and daughter.

I prayed this time would come, and thankfully it's arriving.

Today our daughter Katie turns 21.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Katie!