Happy Birthday, Abby!

My baby turned 13 on Tuesday.

I am the parent of a teenager.

I am pretty sure I'm far too young to be the parent of a teenager.

Anyway, she's a really good one, so that helps. She's smart and funny and she watches out for other people. She goes out of her way to help people, including her family. She loves to read, and we have the best conversations about books...I always hoped my kids would like to read! In fact, she has started a blog where she reviews Youth Fiction--by a teen for teens. Seriously, how cool is that? She shows more initiative and commitment to things than I would ever have considered at her age.

She IS a lot like me in some ways, in the way her mind works and the things that are important to her (she doesn't like it when we say that; she would prefer to be tragically misunderstood). But she's so much better than I ever was...more confident, smarter, kinder, more creative, more energetic, prettier...

So, happy birthday, my first baby. I love you.