"did you know that butterflies eat nectar?"

i went to eat with madelyn tonight. brian and ella are out of town so i decided to take her to the chinese buffet. and of course, she had to eat with chopsticks because it's the proper thing to do in a chinese restaurant. i'm actually quite impressed with how well she can eat with them. but what impresses me even more is how grown-up she has become.

it's not like we talked about politics or anything, although we probably could; she knows who the first president was and who the current president is, which is about the extent of my political knowledge. but she just started spouting off facts to me, and the way she delivered the information wasn't like "hey, guess what i learned today", but rather she just started talking nonchalantly as if talking about the weather.

"so, ya know that bees make honey? and butterflies, when they lay eggs, it has this sticky stuff on it. yep. so we got to go on our field trip today and it was fun. we didn't have any homework. and i told mrs. price about our new dog. what does that stuff taste like? what is it, shrimp? does it taste like fish? that stuff is all seafood, isn't it? it's called that because it comes from the sea. ok, i'm ready for ice cream, but you don't have to go with me. i can do it. and if i have problems, i'll just come back to the table and get you, k?"

after staring at her for a minute and taking it all in, i finally said "madelyn, how did you get so smart?" and then she just looked at me, as if i had just asked the most ridiculous question she had ever heard. "um, i go to school, you know."

looking across the table, at that very moment, i realized that my daughter is growing up. we don't have one-on-one time very much, where we just "hang out." it was nice. but as nice as it was, and as thrilled as i am at how smart and beautiful and funny this tiny little 2 pound miracle baby has turned out to be, it absolutely scares me to death. my babies are growing up, and there's nothing i can do about it.