Today brought a couple of reminders that my oldest is growing up.

First, the local Christian radio station has a coloring contest. The kids can choose what prizes they'd like to be entered for. One of the prizes was a cell phone with 100 minutes. Des asked us about the cell phone, and we told her it would be better to look at addinhg her to our cell plan when we sign a new contract. This led to a discussion about rights and privileges, and the standard reminder that if she gets a phone, she's going to need to be responsible with it. I haven't talked with my wife about it, but it may be her BDay present this year.

I had reservations at first, but then remembered when I was a kid we were always given change for the pay phones to call home in an emergency. Since there really aren't many pay phones anymore, this is a similar concept. As she becomes more and more independent, she'll have a way to get ahold of us in case of an emergency.

The second reminder was after church. She asked if she coould go to a concert with friends. This is her first concert without us. OK, so it's a Third Day concert, and she's going with the BSU director and his family, but to her it's a pretty big deal. If I had been off work, I would have offered to go with her, but, ya know, it's probably better that I'm working. This will be a big event for her.

We're only a few months shy of her 13th birthday, and we're already getting into heady discussions about cell phones, cars, and concerts. Fortunately, she's a pretty levelheaded kid, so I'm not too worried at this point. But I AM still trying to come to grips with the whole thing.