My chest is now relieved.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. Absolutely. Gorgeous. Have I made myself perfectly clear? I was even inspired to clean the sunflower seed shells off the back deck where the birds had dropped them, and move the birdfeeder onto the clothesline. I mended one of the windchimes, threw the contents of two pots of thoroughly dead plants onto the garden plot and surveyed the deck with the realization that it is a filthy environment and must be dealt with. I also went downtown and observed university students in shorts and t-shirts sitting outside at The Lion quaffing Lion�s Pride as the semis and 18-wheelers made their noisy way around the corner and through town. Yes folks, it was a thoroughly gorgeous day.

Hubby and I have decided that we will do nothing about our Little Princess, that she is trying to grow up oh so quickly, and who are we to stand in her way? So, apart from the fact that she did not call to say she would be dining at her friends� after I had prepared supper for the family at large, we are not going to make a big deal of her waywardness. Our feeling is that she is not stupid (on the contrary, she is very smart, just not blessed with a lot of common sense), and since she is almost 18, she must learn from her own errors. To that end, Papa will inform her that he will not submit her birth-control pill receipts for reimbursement under his drug plan because this is not a necessary medical expense, it is �elective�. When I was 17 and taking birth-control pills, I was hiding them from my parents. It would never have occured to me in a million years to ask for help paying for them. Wow, it felt good to get that off my chest.

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