Recently the Girl and her aunt (the one who has all boys) went shopping for a new dress. It took 6 hrs, 21 malls, 5 stores and about 60 dresses to find the one that was pronounced "just right" . Part of the problem is that the Girl is at the awkward size, too grown up for the children's department, not quite mature enough for Juniors. But it was also that she is now far more particular than she once was about the clothes she puts on her body. And this is just one of several signs of a growning maturity that we have observed lately,
Consider:
She is totally opposed to the color pink. This from a child who lived for pink the first 10 years of her life.
She recently decided that she was too old for Pocahontas bed sheets and mismatched throw blankets, and spent a chunk of her Christmas money on a "bed in a bag" set. Sheets, comforter, pillow cases, sham and bed skirt, all in lavender, with a nice reversable floral pattern. After she got the bed arranged she banished virtually all of her stuffed animals and dolls to storage. She also requested the removal of the fairy princess castle head board that is mounted to the wall. In short, the room no longer loooks like a little girl's room, but that of a teenager.
She has taken down all the Twilight posters and replaced them with The Lord of the Rings, and some serious looking unicorns. (This may not indicate maturity, but it is a clear sign of better taste,)
She is actually practicing her viola most nights, instead of trying to cram in a whole weeks worth on Sunday.
She sets her own alarm clock and gets up on her own most mornings.
She is spending seemingly endless hours debating which of several high school programs she should apply for. (She will be a real treat in a couple years when the college catalogs start showing up.)
That doesn;t mean she doesn;t have her little girl moments still. She falls asleep most nights watching her Teen Titans, the complete series DVD's. She is thoroughly conversant with all the offerings of Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.
In short, she is on the brink. And its fascinating to watch the little clues to the woman she will be.
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Lovely dress. We are on the brink of being on the brink at my house & I'm not quite ready for it.
ReplyDeleteAnd she's my baby too...so after her it's all over. I will say its a good thing we had the boy first, and worked our way up to the girl drama.
DeletePretty dress. I bet her Aunt had a wonderful time dress shopping with her. When you have all boys there are certain things you don't expect to get to do and that's one of them.
ReplyDeleteYou're right Vanessa, and that's the main reason I let Sis have these occasional fits of spoiling her rotten.
DeleteWhat Vanessa said. I was thinking about that too. With two boys there will be no Easter dress/bonnet/shoe shopping. lol The dress she picked is lovely and give her a hi-5 for me; LOTR does trump Twilight! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda. I like the dress too, its just right for a 8th grader. Some of the kids dresses made her look like she was 10 and some of the juniors dresses looked like she was studying to be a courtesan, but this one is just right.
DeleteAw, she made a great choice! I have boys, one 16 and one 9. So, I have one leg on either side. But I think it's a bit less tricky than having girls.
ReplyDeleteI have one of each, and I agree that boys are often easier, especially on the drama front! Wouldn't trade her little drama queen self for anything though.
DeleteShe looks like a lovely young lady! And she looks great in the dress, too. Growing up is so darn hard, both for the kid and for the parents...
ReplyDeleteIt certainly can be. If only there were a way for them to learn all the lessons with out going through all the trauma of growning up.
DeleteI loved the bit about replacing "Twilight" with "Lord of the Rings" being a sign of improve taste!
ReplyDeleteThanks cynk. I endured her fascination with sparkly vampires for years (I'm a vintage Christopher Lee type vampire person myself) but it is finally wearing off,
DeleteI don't like shopping, even for myself. If I had to endure 6 hrs, 21 malls, 5 stores to find clothing, I just go naked.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I clearly lack their determination where fashion is concerned.
DeleteShe looks very pretty (and very serious) about her dress selection. Such a pretty spring dress -- now if only spring will get here. I have a 12 year old and we are going through the same thing. Makes me crazy to get her out of the bathroom from primping and out the door to school on time.
ReplyDeleteFortunatly for us, our school system requires uniforms through middle school, so the morning primping is limited. Next year when she goes to high school all bets are off.
DeleteI also have a growing into tween stage daughter. It's so heart hurting and heart melting, this stage of betwixt and between. Love the sunny dress :)
ReplyDelete"betwixt and between" is a perfect way to describe it. Thanks Cindy.
DeleteWhat a pretty girl! And it sounds like she's developing into a wonderful woman!
ReplyDeleteThank you Natalie. She is turning out quite nicely so far.
DeleteI think she may be more mature than me...and I'm 25!
ReplyDeleteShe thinks she's more mature than most 25 year olds. Thanks cierralynn
DeleteI know you were tired but for "the girl" I know the aunt and you knew it was worth. You've got a good girl who knows to think about what high school program is right. Sing with me, "She'll go and finish college." Your post made me feel good.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ann. She is auditioning for an orchestral music program next month at one school (she plays viola but she also takes ballet, and sings in the choir, and hasnt been off the merit roll (at least) since she started middle school. So she has almost unlimited directions to head in, "She will go and finish college". Oh yes.
DeleteMy daughter is two and I love seeing her personality continue to grow. While I can wait for the tween/teen years, I'm excited to see the "clues" of what kind of woman she'll be!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, Betty, but in looking back I can see alot of clues to the young lady she would become.
DeleteI loved this post in thinking of my own kids, and about how my own room transitioned from little girl to tween to teen to the room I would come home to in college. Lovely read!
ReplyDeleteI felt kind of sad when she packed up so much of the little girl stuff. (It is a very small room though, so I dont blame her.) The journey from "Oh my god its pink" to more subdued blues and lavenders reflects so many other transitions in her life.
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