My baby is seventeen today. It hardly seems possible that so many years could have gone by but seventeen she is, and more of a woman than a girl I'm afraid. Every year with Becky has held it's own particular issues and challenges, this last one more than we would have ever imagined in our wildest dreams. While none of us understand it all at this time, by faith we know God's purpose is good and right and look forward to the day when we "understand it better by and by." At this writing she's written off a half a dozen colleges and is pretty much settled on Northland. There again, God knows what he's doing and is giving me a year to get used to the idea of such a great separation. I'm reminded that my own parents let me go to the Chicago area completely by myself. At least Beck will have friends there already.

So that's what's going on and is today's Big Deal. We'll go to the Peanut Festival tonight (Farmer's Night - no charge!) and will eat World Famous Corn Dogs and drink hot cocoa. I'll hunt down my annual chocolate covered banana on a stick and Beck will probably get one too as she learned the joys of this thing last summer. It will be fun; one last peanut fling with the baby. She'll probably go again later this week with her friends. It's all part of that growing up and breaking away thing.