When I turned 17 I was asked by my husband (at the time was my boyfriend) to leave home to be with him and move up north to Pennsylvania. He was 28, I just turned 17. When I asked my mother if I could leave she told me she would allow it only because I'm clear on what decision I wanted to make. But she warned me, she said "you will grow up, and he will remain the same". At first I thought that was a joke, but now that I am 21 and we have been together for almost 5 years it's beginning to show. I am growing, maturing, and discovering myself. I don't feel the same for him anymore. At first I felt he was my hero, taking me from a bad place and offering me a new life. Then I went through the daddy phase where I depended on him to make my decisions for me. Now I'm all woman and there is so much I want to do, freely. I feel I could care for myself and my children, I could be independent. Alot of questioning has surfaced. Is it true, have I grown out of him? Or is it a pathetic excuse, an excuse indicating I miss my youth?