The Time to Shine

We are entering the dawn of a new day. I see it just peeking its sparkly head around the corner. Life with a pre-teen girl. It’s on the horizon. Just sitting there. Mocking us. Waiting to descend full time…

Right now, A is 7 and a half. Recently, she’s begun experimenting with some pre-teen type of behavior.

Jewelry is now being added to every outfit. Requests have been made for nail polish on the toes this summer.

In addition to the physical changes, she’s trying out a new giggly laugh. She mimics some girly type squealing of her girlfriends when she’s with them or has just seen them. Everything, from a bug that landed on her at her twin brother’s soccer game to her sister coughing on food at the dinner table, evokes a very dramatic, slightly drawn out response.

I know that this is normal. Her father, on the other hand, is about to lose it. See, he is the youngest of 4 BOYS. Not a girl in sight in that house growing up. So some of A’s new idiosyncrasies have started to get on his nerves. They had 2 clashes this weekend alone. I tried to explain to him what’s going on with his sweet little girl.

She’s just figuring out who she is and how to act feminine for the first time. She wants to have some fun and get a little attention in the process. A has always been a very non-girly girl. She’d much rather run around outside on her bike and play soccer and baseball with her brother than play dolls. She does not own a single Barbie (thank God) or Polly Pocket. So, this is a bit new for us.

She has always been such a sweet, kind and good child. I hope as we approach this new time in her life, she’ll continue to always show those great aspects of her personality. However exaggerated they may become. Above all, I hope that she has confidence in herself and her decisions. This is what I tried to explain to T. We can’t mock this behavior because it’s going to help her figure out who she is about to become.

I only hope that her preteen self is as wonderful as her little girl self-dressed up with some additional sparkle and a little glitter of course.