I'm not sure how it happened, but tonight I finished shopping for my daughter Grace's school clothes - in the teen department. I still remember when she called hiccups, "teacups", and wore her hair in a fountain on top of her head. Suddenly I am the mother of a pre-teen with all that goes with it. The emotions, body changes, and acne. I am not ready for this. In fact, I am terrified. I made a lot of really bad choices as a teenager. I am praying hard that she will have much more wisdom than I did.
I am so proud of how she has leaped into her new school situation and embraced the changes. She was very angry just a week ago about the move, but now is loving it. She has made friends and God has blessed her with excellent teachers that love her already. I am trying hard to be as relaxed as I can with her and turn over more of the decision making about her life to her. It was hard while shopping to let go and say - whatever - as long as it is modest. I want her rapid body changes to be as positive an experience as possible and part of that is her having the clothes to wear that make her feel confident.
When she was a toddler, I thought that time would never pass, but now that she is big, I wish that I could slow it down. Tonight she ordered a salad from the grown-up menu at panera! When did she out grow the kids' menu?
Pray for me to have great wisdom and patience in parenting a pre-teen. I want to guide her through the teen years to exit out on the other side confident and ready to face the world. It is hard for me to relax and let go of my baby girl.
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