I am the mom of a 9-year old daughter. This 9 year old daughter is growing up too quickly. She wants her privacy now. She doesn't even want me near her when she's showering or getting dressed. Like I can't even be on the same floor of the house, in case, heaven-forbid, all the doors suddenly disappear.
This 9 year old daughter doesn't want me to do her hair anymore. She actually wants me to buy her a flat-iron, so she can straighten her beautifully wavy hair. (How does she even know what a flat-iron is?) She picks out her own clothes, and has her own sense of style.
This 9 year old daughter is also speaking a language I don't always understand. Here are a couple of examples, and my guess at their meaning:
- "Like" - this is used not to actually describe something she likes, or in saying that something was like something else (isn't that a simile?). Rather, it's used to accentuate nearly every other word in nearly every sentence. For example "And I was like, can you believe that he like said that out loud?"
- "And Um, Yeah" - this phrase is used to punctuate a sentence. For example: "At recess today, I was like, talking to Madison when Clayton came up to talk to me. And um, yeah." When she says "And um, yeah", I know that she's done talking about the subject.
There are other phrases that are becoming regulars as well. I just haven't quite figured out the meaning yet. We try and gently remind her that some of these words/phrases are not necessarily proper English, or used in the proper context. She just rolls her eyes.
I try and remember that I was once a pre-teen girl, who thought my mom knew absolutely nothing about being cool. And I don't want to be the un-cool mom. The next few years will be hard - temptations and peer pressure will be crazy out there. I want her to be able to talk to me about the struggles, challenges and temptations that she faces. I don't want to be the mom that lectures or nags. But I do want her to know that I've been there, done that, and can help her through.
Once in a while, the little girl inside the 9 year old pre-teen emerges. And she wants to cuddle and have me rub her back and tell her a story about when she was a little girl. And in those moments, I am overjoyed with love for this amazing person whom I have the privilege of calling my daughter. And um, yeah.
3 comments:
Cute post, cute girl. I remember being about that age and my mom trying to talk me into wearing something that was "really in style" and I'm sure it was in the real world, but it was NOT in style among my friends at school, and of course that was ALL that mattered. There is no way you are NOT the cool mom. You ride motorcycles and do triathlons!
I loved this post! It will be so much fun to look back on! We're "Baby Blue" readers, too! We love how it frames life with kids to a T! Hilarious!
I wish you could hear me laughing right now. I don't think you ought to worry too much about being boring or out of touch. Just thow in words like "rad" every now and then and she will think you are the bomb! ha ha ha.... She is a doll and so are you!
Post a Comment