Ain't life funny?

I have had the most emotional past week.

A's growing up has snuck up on me. Sending him off with a girl to a concert was not my idea of fun. I realized with startling clarity that I was grieving the loss of my child. It's normal and natural for him to develop independence and I'm completely surprised at how poorly I handled it.

It was also a startling revelation to find out B has a completely different view of this "pairing up" than I do. He was pushing A to ask the girl to the NHL game (poor little thing, she's never been to an NHL game) and I put my foot down and it caused more friction between us than almost any other subject. I was astounded at my own intensity on the subject of child rearing.

B says he's not pushing. I say pairing up for big events (concerts, hockey games) sets the wrong precendent, sends too strong a message (too much, too fast, too expensive, too exclusive, etc).

Turns out after all the fireworks and tears in our house, she's moved on to a new boy as of Friday. Even though I cannot be convinced that "pairing up" in any way shape or form is a good idea at age 13, I'm more than a little annoyed with how easy-come easy-go she was and now wish I'd accepted her mom's offer to pay for her concert ticket.

The whole kafuffle doesn't appear to have had any particular negative impact on A.

I bought "Preparing for Adolescence" today. Is that kind of like locking the barn door after the horse is gone?