Peggy,

Thank you for your response. You are correct. The man she now lives with told me, “She was afraid if she told you she planned to leave, you would try to stop her.” and she was right. I would have tried. I will admit that. Seeing her so happy now, I’m glad things turned out the way they did, but yes, at the time, not knowing him or what sort of life she was heading toward, I would most certainly have tried to talk her out of it. I think I still see her as a little girl. Perhaps she sees me more clearly than I see her?

Since she left she’s called me for help cooking, tips on how to save money at the grocery store, to get my advice on applying for jobs. In reading that sentence just now I think how fortunate I am that she values my guidance, but at the time I think it helped cement in my mind how unprepared she was to take on a life of her own. I’m laughing at myself as I sit here writing this wondering if maybe all along I’ve been thinking she needs me, when really it was I who needed her.

Oh my. :-0