My basement Ninjas have packed up and moved on. I'm a little bit sad. They were fun to have around. They came for two months while they were producing and performing a show called "The Jacket," which was one of the funniest shows I have seen in a long time. It takes a lot for me to laugh out loud and at this show I did, at both performances that I saw.Alas, the kids were less pleased with my generosity in allowing a few 20-somethings to live in our basement. They were less than genial which made me sad, but was probably my own fault. There was strife whenever Carter needed to practice his trumpet while Olivia was doing her homework because he couldn't go to the basement to practice. My resolution was to promise Olivia that she could move her room to the basement when the ninjas left. They were even kind enough to move her bed for her. Maybe in the end, she was a tiny bit grateful for those sweet ninjas.And so, she has gained another tiny slice of independence. There are lots of doors to the outside in the basement, so I told her I would be activating the door chimes, the ones that annoyingly chime every time a door is opened and closed. For safety. And my own peace of mind.On the first school day after her move, I realized that I couldn't just peek my head into her door to wake her up. I was too lazy to traipse all the way down to her lair, so I called her, her groggy voice answering. Later she said, "mama, I have an alarm clock you know. You don't have to wake me up anymore."Another tiny step towards independence. Another tiny lesson in letting go.