When I changed my daughter's diapers I knew the day would come when they would become teenagers and and I would be facing the challenges that every father of a teenage daughter faces.  But it seems as if I were only changing diapers yesterday and today I have a 12 year old who is mad at me because I won't let her go to the street fair with the boy she has a crush on.  When I delivered that particular bit of bad news yesterday at the dinner table I also included the caveat that there would be no one-on-one dating until at least high school and even then it would be reevaluated based on the situation.  She escaped to her room at that point and all communication since then has been through text messages.  What an interesting world we live in where a father talks to his daughter by typing on a phone.  What an excellent opportunity to bring some awareness into my path as a parent.

Here's me putting her on a plane to Chicago to visit my sister, her first solo flight.