We spent yesterday day in the garage.

Okay, it wasn’t the whole day…it was really the afternoon.  I was up at 8:00 when I heard the dog whining.  I let Bandit out so he could “water” my plants and then I made the coffee.  There was no point in crawling back in bed because I knew we had to tackle sorting through the boxes in our garage that were left over from our move a few weeks ago.  I was only going to sit down and watch tv for that first cup of coffee, but before I knew it, it was 10:00!  I had to force myself up and into the shower.  Don’t ask me why, but it didn’t matter that I was going to be spending the afternoon in a dirty, dusty garage sorting through boxes….I had to start with a shower, fresh makeup and my hair fixed.  I just work better that way.  You’ve heard of those people who spend the day in their pajamas?  Well, that sounds great…but I’d have to take a shower and then get back in my pajamas in order to do that!!!

We decided to make two piles…..the yard sale pile (for next Saturday) and the keep pile (and figure out where it goes later).  We decided that would be the quickest way to get through all the boxes.  You know what happens when you begin to stop and sort through the contents of a box…you can get lost in that one box for an hour!  So we resisted the temptation to stop and look through boxes of pictures from birthday parties and first days of schools, and boxes that contained books that we had read to the girls when they were little.  We put stuffed animals in bags, remembering the call from the dentist’s office telling Paige she had won the stuffed toy for that month (a huge snowman).

We should never have peeked in the “keepsake clothes” box.  I started that collection when Karlee was a baby.  There were some baby outfits that were so cute, I knew that I couldn’t part with them.  Several things we were able to use again when Paige was born.  So when we opened that box today, I couldn’t get over the little red jumper I saw.  It was Karlee’s first Christmas and she wore it when Ben directed a wedding that December.  I can remember how adorable she looked in it like it was yesterday.  There was the cute little skirt, shirt and vest that she wore when she was a toddler.  She would wear it on Sunday and look so “grown up”!  There was the black velvet skirt with matching jacket that had the red bows on it that was perfect at Christmas time.  

So last night I was out for my run.  I’m jogging around the block and I see the jeep as is passes me by.  It’s Karlee and her boyfriend coming home from the teen bowling night.  I still can’t believe it.  My little girl that was just wearing a baby jumper, is in a jeep…..with a boy!  This is still totally freaky.

I think I missed the reading the book.  You know, the one that talks about how to prepare for jumping from cartoons to kissing.  It seems like it is just that fast.  It’s must easier to talk about “this is the way we brush our teeth” than ”these are the rules for……well you know”.  

Why does it seem so strange to have to enter this phase?  Maybe because I’m scared to death of ever thinking of her heart being broken.  Maybe because I know this dating road is such a long one and filled with so many pitfalls.  I was hoping I could just keep her “on ice” until she got to Trevecca and found a good Nazarene boy!  I guess I should try and be pleasant to whomever she brings home.  It wouldn’t be very nice to walk up to him and say “Young man, if you dare mess with her heart and leave her wounded….I will haunt you for the rest of your days!”

I guess this is where I need to start reading up on “How Not to Embarrass Your Daughter in Front of her Boyfriend”?!!!  Does jogging count?