So, there’s lots going on.  I’m sure that it’s the same for you, whether you know it or not.  Sometimes it’s just what’s in your head.  Other times it’s physically right in front of you in your own perception of a reality.

Let me paint a picture for you; sometimes life screams with reality.

Junior Miss Giddy’s mom, my ex-wife, was recently diagnosed with cancer.  She had surgery earlier this week, and now she’s preparing for the challenges of chemo. So many of those who have been a part of my family have had to face this, it just makes me really angry.

No time for that though – it takes strength and a positive outlook to help beat it.  I have my sister and cousin as proof of that.  Treatment methods are so much better now than when my mother lost her battle a little over 30 years ago – you can look forward to recovery being a much more likely probability.

It’s within the events of this week that life delivered a moment a parent can only experience once.  A moment equally terrifying as exhilarating.  It’s that moment when your child becomes an adult – and you know it.

It’s partly terrifying in that you never see it coming, and it just happens.  You can’t really expect it.

You see, last week we were a little pissed at the child, well, her Stepmom and I were at least.  Seems she had scheduled her annual big barbeque and pool party for the upcoming weekend.  You know, several dozen college students and young co-workers eating tons of food, swilling beer and causing a ruckus.  That’s all fine and shit – but we wanted her to take some time and get everything together herself.  It’s her party after all.  But the week leading in to the party found her to be very busy.  You know, concerts, other parties, 400 mile drives to Sonic and other important things that a popular young Giddy might have to attend to.

So, as we expected anyway, most of the cleanup, setup, shopping, cooking and prodding fell to us adults. Scammed again. Oh well, we’ll get over it.  Everyone seemed to have fun and no arrests made in our area that night were attributed to the festivities here at Giddyland. More or less a success.

But just two days later she got herself to the hospital by 530am for her Mom’s surgery.

She stayed there all day – updating everyone with text messages and facebook postings as to how things were going. She stayed into the night and then came home to get a few hours sleep and then went back.  Then next day, I cut out of work a little early, then my wife and I went up to visit.  Junior Miss was there of course and filled us in on what the doctors were doing and saying – she was helping her Mom with her food and drinks, being a regular Florence Nightingale. We were very proud.

Then it hit me – smacked me right in the face with a slap as cold as case of fish sticks. Suddenly my little girl was an adult – at least for the first time in my view.

Oh, now don’t get me wrong – she’s self sufficient and more than capable of adult responsibility when she needs to be. But, like most any other father my child is perennially six years old in my eyes.

Quite a mind fuck to say the least.  Spending most of your adult years concerned primarily with the protection of your child, only to suddenly realize she was now the protector. And it happened in the flash of a moment.

For the first time in my life, I realized what it meant to arrive at maturity.