A picture is worth a thousand words.

My little girls are growing up - although Elliott does not quite fill my shoes yet!

I find myself struggling a bit as Olivia moves a bit further from the nest. I'm glad that she has friends from school, and that she wants to go to their house and play, but I worry about her. I want to be sure that she's in a safe environment. How can you know that for sure as a parent? You use your best judgement, but it would be very easy not to let her out of my sight at all. It really makes me appreciate my parents even more. I think of all the times that they weren't sure that they wanted to let me do something with a friend - and I think of all the good times that I had with my friends and their families - although they were different from my own, and I take a deep breath. Parenting isn't easy and just when you think you've got a handle on it, it moves on to another phase.