Parenting 101

Last Saturday I picked Katie up at the airport to begin her semester as a US Senate Page. Aside from a 10 minute period when I thought I'd lost her to kidnappers lurking in BWI baggage claim who'd surely sold her into slavery, I managed to safely collect her to assume psuedo-parenting for the next 48 hours.

Feeling much like my mom and dad when they dropped me off at BYU, we spent the time acquiring the requisite large numbers of plastic junk from Target that always accompany a "move into dorms" day, purchasing the world's ugliest shoes, and enjoying a last dinner.

And when I dropped her off at the page dorms two days later, the mom/dad stand-in in me was most relieved to see her guarded with great care by:

1. two 24-hour Capital Hill Policemen stationed by the front door and in between the boys and girls bedroom wings, and
2. window screens latticed with touch-sensitive alarm wiring (to "keep people OUT and keep people IN" according to the program administrator).

But I felt karma fully swing around and greet me when it was time to leave and I said, "um, ok, so, ok, well, um, do you have everything? Can I get anything else? When will I see you next? I'll call you soon. Are you ok? Should we set a date for dinner later this week?" to her response, "I'll call yah," as she turned and, literally, skipped down the hall to rejoin the group of laughing kids. I was clearly leaving 5 (to 65) minutes too late. At that point, I remembered ever so clearly ditching my parents the day they dropped me off at BYU and I very much felt the "but...OH...okay" that they must have felt of watching someone you still want to tuck in ditch you faster than an "Obama sticker at a Texas healthcare rally" to go grow up.

And, if you'll forgive me and let me be a pretend parent for a minute more, I have to say that being accepted into the Senate Page Program is a really really big deal. Katie is one of only 30 high school juniors from across the country selected to be "Farm Girl" for the US Senate for the next five months. Catch her on C-SPAN during business hours.

[By the way, I would also like to note that I was mistaken for a page not once BUT twice. Still processing that one.]