Dear Abs

We've come a long way!!!! If anyone has read my blog, or knows Abs, she has been a firecracker since the day she was born. By the age of two, I could never be more than two feet away from her, or she dyed herself blue to be a smurf, flushed the cat (who survived and lives with Oma and Opa), covered herself with desitin which remained on her for a week. She's flooded the house, zipped herself in a suitcase and was "missing", ran into a car that almost ran over her, had a Code Adam put out on her in Walmart, the list goes on and on and on. For a long time I wondered if I would survive her childhood. Her second grade teacher used to send home hair when Abs "did not" cut her hair in class. The following event happened today, and makes me smile:

We were sitting in the car, we are hot, the ac is on high, and I realize I did not pay parking.
Me: I need to go back in and pay for parking.
Abs: Okay
Me: (hesitating for a second and thinking about making Abbie go with me) Ummmmm.....
Abs: I can stay here.
Me: Well.........the car is on. Can I trust you?
Abs: It's not like I am going to drive a car, that would be illegal.
Me: There was a time where you would have tried.
Abs: Really?
Me: Yes, so I have to think about it. (I start thinking back to all of the events of her life)
Abs: Really, I will be okay.
Me: Okay, my expectations are--the car will remain on, you are not to touch the key, lock the door immediately after I get out, do not open the door for anyone, do not touch the gear shift, do not play with any electrical device.
Abs: No problem.
Me: (I rushed over to pay for parking, and rushed back.)

The car was still there, still in park, still on, nothing touched or ruined.
Abs: Minus the whole cinnamon roll incident this morning, I've really matured.
Me: Abs, you have no idea, no idea at all.