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May 16

She’s not a little girl anymore

I took my daughter, Austin with me on a business trip out of state to check in a large Design Hardware order.  It was a chance to spend time together before she embarks on her adult journey.

We had not traveled any distance together over the last couple of years as she was a teenager and wanted to spend summers and vacations with her friends, not traveling with mom.  I have to admit the trip went differently than I imagined.  Good, but different.  I had expected our roles to be mom and daughter but in actuality we were two adults, comfortable with each other’s company taking a road trip.

Austin is 19 and proved to be a very independent and capable traveling companion, not the little girl who needed her mommy. Well, except when we went shopping, then she used the same cute faces and begging voice she has always used.  And yes, it still works!

Our plans involved putting in an aggressive work day at the job site, then rewarding ourselves with a stop at Myrtle Beach on our journey home. We were anxious to get started but learned our plans would be delayed a couple of hours due to a late delivery. Fed Ex seriously cut into our beach time.  We decided to help unload so we could make up time.  I told her we could manage the lock and exit device boxes, but we should leave the hinge and closer boxes for the guys because they are very heavy.  The superintendent that was carrying the heavier boxes was called away and promised to be right back.

As Austin went to grab a closer box, I said “don’t, it’s heavy honey!”, I was surprised with she scooped it up and said, “Mom, it’s not that heavy, let’s just do it so we can get finished”.   That was my first hmm moment.  The second came once we were inside the job trailer and needed to open the boxes to count the hardware inside.  I started to look around for a box cutter when she whipped out a knife and starts cutting the boxes open. Who is this girl that carries a knife around everywhere? She was definitely earning her trip to the beach!  We were finished in no time and I felt proud to be her mom.

We had a great time that afternoon and evening in Myrtle Beach but woke up to very stormy skies and decided to head home early.  Then the little girl in her kicked in and it became a race to get back home in time to see her boyfriend play baseball.

I will always treasure that trip and credit it with the discovery that my daughter was no longer a little girl.

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