lucky 13

On Sunday, Phoebe turned 13 years old. She's dealt with alot of stuff in her short life which has forced her to grow up faster than usual so this birthday wasn't so much a right of passage into teenagehood but more a confirmation of it. All I could think of at age 12 was climbing trees and doing cartwheels - I can't imagine how hard its been for her.

When I asked her if she was excited about turning 13 she said she was looking forward to it more than last year because she is happier now. On her 12th birthday she was in a different place and she's had to fight hard to get to the place she is at today.

It made my heart skip a beat and I realised that although I am sometimes blindly parenting, we must be doing something right to have her so happy and comfortable in our home. You can see that she is simply prepared to be a teenager and start worrying about boys and friends rather than "family issues" and that's the way it should be.

I can see the young woman emerging and although I think we are going to have our hands full; I can't wait to meet her. She's going to be glorious! I honestly could not be any more proud of her if she were my own daughter.