That's My Girl !!!

I’m 34 years old and I’m not ready for boys. Especially not those Eddie Haskell types that rush up to introduce themselves to you, enthusiastically shake your hand and try to make awkward small talk while you eye them skeptically. You see, my daughter just turned 14 and I’ve been dreading this next stage. Mostly because I’m forced to the realization that she’s not my baby anymore. Forced to say goodbye to the pigtails and say hello to the eye rolling when I lovingly call her ‘SarBear’. She’s becoming a woman and if I’ve done my job correctly, she’ll be strong, smart and sure of herself and be in a much better place than I was at her age.

My husband is handling this worse than I am. A couple of weeks ago I was heading up the stairs after putting the last load of laundry into the washing machine. Patting myself on the back because I was caught up for the first time in months and I walked into total complete darkness. You see, boys had knocked on the door and asked for Sarah and I found my husband in the office pulling the blinds back ever so slightly while he watched. When he noticed I was there he explained what he was doing (and why he had turned off the lights) and I jokingly said, ‘why don’t you open the window so you can hear them too’! And looking more serious than I had seen in years he exclaimed ‘what a great idea!’ I think we’re in for a few rough years ahead…

Recently we found out that one of these boys is leaving with his parents for a year in Mexico and there was a sort of going away party for him which we reluctantly let her go to. This boy (aka Eddie Haskell) ended up walking her home and on the way home he confessed to Sarah that he liked her. That he really liked her. And my smart, beautiful young daughter Han Solo’d him. That’s right folks. She looked him in the eye, smiled sweetly and said, “I know.” I didn’t know whether to laugh, reprimand her for her insensitivity or applaud her confidence. Naturally I opted for the standing ovation, thrilled that my daughter can hold her own much better than I ever could at 14.

And it occurs to me that even after everything we’ve been through and that I really miss not having my mom around to talk to about all of this foreign territory, we must be doing something right.

Honestly though…I’m really glad this boy is moving to Mexico for a year!!