How did my kids get older when I didn't?

I'm not really sure how or when it happened, but somehow my kids grew up.

I thought I'd been an attentive mother, attending as many of the ball games as possible, getting the braces when needed, doing the school shopping, taking them to the movies and concerts and fairs.

Still, it took me by surprise.

Oh, I started getting little hints -- we'd get solicitations from colleges addressed to my son, my daughter started wearing a little bit of makeup and shopping in the juniors section of stores -- but I didn't think anything of it. I was still the 30-year-old mother of toddlers, at least in my head.

Then the other night it hit me. My son went to a college fair, talked to some representatives and came home with the announcement: he knows where he wants to go.

College? Really? How is that possible?

Then I sat down and started to think. He's 16 and learning to drive (he wasn't interested until now). He's a junior in high school and catches rides to games, movies and other events with friends. He's four inches taller than me (which should have been my first clue, really).

And he's interesting. Not that he wasn't before -- I've enjoyed every stage of my kids' lives (mostly!) but now we sit down and talk like "grown-ups," about real things that matter in places outside our little home. We talk social issues, music, politics, world events.

Then I started thinking about my daughter. At 13 she's not as advanced as her brother, although in some ways she's even more so. She's wearing a little bit of makeup and has a stylish haircut -- beyond the cute little bob I used to make her wear. She got asked out for her first date (she's too young to go, but she did get asked). Like her brother, she too is interesting: we talk about social issues as well, but also the changes that her circle of friends will go through, her hopes and dreams, and her strength in her faith.

So now I accept it. My kids are growing up, and they have been -- right in front of my eyes. They're growing into incredible people, and I'm excited for their futures.

But I'd still like to know how they got older when I didn't.