It’s my oldest granddaughter’s birthday today.  Jazmine Lynn is 17.  Okay, stop just a minute.  That’s impossible.  I was in the room when she was born, and no way . . . no way was that seventeen years ago!  Two, three years maybe, but nowhere close to seventeen.  I remember the time I took her to the circus and she saw her first elephant.  The moment she laid eyes on it, she started giggling and clapping.  At two I took her to McDonald’s and studied the menu board trying to figure out what was best for a two-year-old to eat.  Standing on her tippy toes, Jazmine placed her tiny fingers on the counter and shouted, “Chicken nuggets, ranch dressing.”

Okay, I’m willing to admit a few years might have slipped past unnoticed.  Last summer Jazmine took me to the office every morning so she could practice driving.  On the way we’d stop off at a latte stand, and to this day I still remember her order:  “Chai tea latte with a shot of espresso and caramel, no whipped topping.”  I had a skinny vanilla latte.  Yup, my little girl is growing up.  This morning when I called to wish her a happy birthday, we talked about college.  College?  Oh my, all this is happening way too fast.