Thoughts on growing them up before they move out: As we celebrate my oldest daughter’s 18th birthday, it's bittersweet for me. I can’t help but reminisce at all the joy she has brought into our lives, but its also time to make sure that I've done my job and she is prepared to leave the nest. Adulting is hard. To keep myself away from the melancholy parts of this transition, I’m going to focus on some pointers for how to keep it REAL as we help our children become the adults