Chicken Little. That's what we called The Eldest when she was little. That was yesterday. Yes, I'm sure it was yesterday. Today, I drove The Eldest to jury duty. I was in my mid-thirties when I got called for jury duty for the first time. She's eighteen. Almost nineteen. Yesterday, she was four.
There was no place in the courthouse lot to drop her off so I drove to the art museum where I teach and parked there. The courthouse is a block from the museum so we walked. I fought the urge to take her hand as we were crossing the street. Wasn't it yesterday that I took her hand and walked her to preschool? Yes, I'm sure it was just yesterday.
I left her at the corner. Who was that young woman walking away from me? She looked so confident. I fought the urge to make sure she went in the building.
So, Chicken Little was called to jury duty. An adult. A rite of passage. My rite of passage too. Letting go. Not hovering.
