Well, I’m no longer the parent of teenagers. Alex turned legal-drinking-age last month and today Erica turns 20.

Insert jokes about how I feel so old now, here.

Good. Glad we got that out of the way. The important thing here is that they’re off to live their own lives now. They’re not necessarily living the dreams they had a few years ago, it’s true. Dreams are only a set of guideposts anyway. Reality is nittier and grittier and, honestly, more interesting. It’s not always as much fun as our dreams, but that’s life. I’m proud of them both and hope that soon they’ll be fully standing upon their own feet, then striding boldly towards their futures.