Six Going on Sixteen

My youngest daughter is six, and it wasn’t until she came along that I began to dread the teenage years. She has two older sisters, so you would think that I was prepared for anything she threw my way.

The other two seem to be more like my husband. They were calm and slightly introverted. I really don’t have to question why they are quiet, because they love just picking up a book and hiding in a corner for hours. I should have known that it was too good to be true.

My cute little six year old loves all things girly and all things sass. From changing into a different dress five times a day to sneaking my lip gloss and picking up all things shiny at the store. There have been a couple of times I had to go back in the store, as she “ hid polish behind her back” because she knew that I would say “no.”

She came out quite the opposite of her sisters. What scared me the most … is that she came out a lot like me. I gave my family the blues in high school. From the attitude, to sneaking out. I was getting scared of what I was creating in her.

Now don’t get me wrong … I allow her to dress up and be who she’s growing up to be. She is fearless. Even in her hand-me-down dress, she hops over fences and climbs trees like no other.

As much as I love to see her in this funny and quirky state. I slowly start seeing the little monster of a teen that she is turning into, even though we have at least 6 years to go.

She’s at the age where she is by my side. Everywhere I go, she isn’t more than three steps behind me. I soak it all in, because I can see what may just happen soon. I am not ready to raise teenage girls. Teaching middle school for over a decade never prepared me.

The holidays and birthdays are usually the times I get the most nervous. I never know what gifts are wrapped from my family. The girls usually spend the night with my aunt during these times. It is always a nice getaway for my husband and me. She has two college aged daughters who love to spoil them. Last time I picked my six year old up from her house, she was on cloud nine to show me what they had given her. Out pops a floral little bag. This bag was filled with lipgloss, and eye shadows, bronzer, and face pencils. I could tell that the look on my face went completely blank. She was so happy, and I was thinking about how I could swiftly place all her new gifts in a trash bin. I was not ready, and couldn’t help but think that I need to figure out a plan before the teenage years hit

She loves playing with nail polish, and putting gloss on her lips before school. She wants to wear her platform shoes and sometimes I see her trying to lower her shirt, for her shoulders to show. The sixteen year old in her starts to show when she gets on video calls with her grandmother or uses the phrase “ But Mom!” as if that will change my mind. I know that she will be my last baby, and I would like to keep her that way as long as I can.

No one prepared me for this rollercoaster of raising little girls who would one day turn into teens. We can save the makeup and her stealing my hair clips for Halloween! As for now, I will do everything in my power to keep her six. I’m pretty sure that things will not get any easier.

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