Letting the young eagle fly

Well, it's finally happened. My 18dd spread her wings and took off. In the only working car. By herself. Just for a couple of nights. At the house of her boyfriend's parents. In ATLANTA.

She planned it out with me ahead of time, but wasn't sure if she was going to return late Fri. evening or early Sat morning.
I IMed her late Fri to find out if she was going go ahead and drive back late, but she didn't answer me back.
So I go to bed - at 5:30am and I'm tossing and turning. The fact that HER dog was in MY bed may have had something to do with the tossing! (Chihauhau, but still, I don't sleep with animals in my bed!) Anyway, I'm waiting for her to get in this morning. I look at the clock and it's 9:30.!?! She's supposed to be to work at 8:30!?!?! I call work. Her manager answers and I ask for her. He tells me she's not there yet. Oh, now I'm frantic! "She's NOT THERE?????" "no. She was supposed to be here at 8:30." "Well I'll try and find out why she's not there yet." (did I mention she has the only working car with her?)
So the next call goes to her cell phone. Rings once, then no answer, no busy signal, nothing. (Visions of her car breaking down on the interstate and someone kidnapping her flash before my eyes.)
Next call, (with panic in my voice) is to BF's mom. She says she doesn't know what time, dd left, but it was early. (Former paramedic is now trying to keep from having a heart attack on the spot. Atlanta is only an hour and 15 mins from here.)

At this point I just happened to look at the clock on the computer. I looked again. I looked at my watch, I looked at the clock on the wall. They all agree it's only 8:20. Then BF mom says BF just got off the phone with her, she just got home. (ok, not at the house. But at work)

Mom feels stupid. And I'd swear on a stack of Bibles that my bedroom clock read 9:30! So I go check it and it too reads 8:30.

Please understand this is a responsible young person. And I'm really NOT a clingy mom-type. And I have no earthly reason WHY I read the clock as 9:30, when it was only 8:20 (the alarm is deliberately set 10 mins ahead.)

All I know is this. I'm just not cut out to be the mom of teens. lol I just don't seem to have the stamina for it. I'm fine with pukey, poopy babies. I'm fine with tantrums (hey, Thang#1 was down on the floor from the time she was 13 months old until she was 3 1/2. One day I tried to count how many tantrums she had had. I lost count at noon and the count was 36 times to that point. She was 3 at the time.) I just stepped over her and let her rip. I was fine with cuts, and an 15 month old who followed big sister up a tree some 10'. (Remember the old Kodak Moment commercials. Well, Thang #1 came in shouting "Mom, come quick and bring your camera! It's a cardiac moment! Yup, it was at that.) I'm good at teaching them things - we homeschool. They can all cook and sew - yep, even ds. They all know the "facts of life." They can clean and do dishes. They can all take care of kids from newborns to school-age. They know how to make a flint and steel fire, set up a tent and camp. They know how to check the oil and fluids in a car, mow the lawn and paint. Not a problem.

I never thought I'd have any trouble teaching my kids anything. But this teenage stuff is killing me. Driver's Ed was the first clue I was in trouble. As I mentioned, I used to be a paramedic. I KNOW what can happen in a car. I know this kid. And the combination of the two scared the daylights out of me. I was a nervous wreck and made her one. Now mind you, she's a good kid. Except when she's being a brat. But cars are big and unforgiving things. At 65 miles an hour, you're toast if you hit anything. Like a deer, or a cow, or another car. Thang #1 just got her regular driver's license 2 weeks ago. Yes, she's 18, not 16. But between the two of us, it was just better for her to wait. Plus, now she's paying $104 a month for her insurance instead of the $45 she was paying with me being the only licensed driver. We just didn't have the money to pay the extra.

Now I've got to start teaching Thang#2 to drive. He wants to argue with everything I say. I'm just not ready to have him get behind the wheel and argue with me over how he's driving. sigh.

Can't I just go "poof" with a magic wand and make 'em little again. Just for a while longer. Until I'm ready for them to grow up and deal with them being teens. kwim? lol