(Her eyes are closed in defiance of my asking to take her picture. She is aware of her digital self propagating the internet universe. I secretly smile as she scowls.)
My eldest is on the verge of puberty … well, she is waiting daily for it. I am grateful for the modern day school system where she is able to learn, ask questions and discuss the changes that are coming at any moment. At home she can ask any question and she will be given a truthful answer.
She warned me that she may not seem herself and she may appear unable to control her emotions. The educator that came to her school recently was up front and honest about her next developmental stage. Eldest daughter is longing for this change. I see this as her readiness to embrace her tweenness.
I was advised at 11/12 that my body was a temple for the holy spirit and that we were no longer allowed to play ‘boys chase the girls’. I learned most of my information about puberty from Judy Bloom and my mother’s copy of “Our Bodies, Ourselves”, which I always felt I was reading in secret.
This eldest child checks in with herself daily for changes. She is very in-tune with her world and has distanced herself further from her younger sibling. I love her strength and awareness, but feel I must express this in very subtle ways so as not to ‘tip her off’ that I am also watching closely for her evolution of self.
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