Developmental Milestones

This week, my family has passed not one but TWO developmental milestones. My "baby," now 14 years old, just got into high school. And believe me, getting into high school in San Francisco is no mean feat. Absolutely nothing is guaranteed, so most of us end up applying to a ridiculous number of schools, because there is no way of knowing in advance who will get in where. The kids go through the application process, shadow visits, interviews, essay writing, standardized testing.... It looks a lot like the college application process looked back when I was a student. And by the way, who ever heard of a system where one has to sweat whether their kid will get into public school??? We chose Balboa High School for our son -- a smaller, up-and-coming public high school that is reasonably close to our house. But admission to Balboa is by lottery, and more kids want it than can go. So it is a crap shoot whether or not your child will be admitted, just like with the private schools. So our family -- knowing that we were heavily leaning toward sending our son to public school -- ended up applying to 4 private schools and 1 Catholic school as well -- just in case our son didn't get admitted to a good public high school. Am I the only one who thinks that's kind of crazy?? Anyway, our son got into lots of schools, had lots of choices, and is in fact going to public school. And it is a huge relief to have the admissions process behind us. On to son number two.... Our elder son, now 16-1/2, got his driver's license this week. WOW. I don't know whether to do a dance (we don't have to drive him everywhere any more!), say a prayer (I hope he drives safely when he doesn't have a parent sitting next to him!), or both. But one thing is clear: our kids are growing up. In my work, doing adoptions and assisted reproduction law, I see lots of people who are pregnant and having babies. I am surrounded by infants and toddlers. I am constantly remembering when.... This week, I have been reminded about how old my own children are. They are two sturdy, capable young men, and I couldn't be prouder of them both nor more excited to see what the world has in store for them.