The Seven Dreaded Words

I think at different ages, there are different things you'd rather not hear your kid say.  For instance:

•  Age 4, you don't want to hear the kid say, "I want to wear pampers again Mommy." 
• At age 15, you don't want your kid to say, "I need to get some birth control." 
• At  age 18, your worst fear is hearing, "Thanks I'm going to my 'real' mom." 
• At age 30, "Can we come and live with you?" 

I think at any age, you can come up with seven words you don't want to hear.

I heard the ones today for your 10-year old daughter:  "Mom, I think my period has started."  And yes, it did.  Dee is so happy.  She is dancing around.  She is so happy and so proud!  Her mom...not so much!  This opens so many doors I wanted to keep closed.

This child, who has a porn problem, now with grown-up hormones and child-birthing abilities.  Scary!  And has she completed most of her growing already?  We want her taller for her strong bone structure.

And what do you do with a child on her period, who doesn't EVER flush the toilet?  Can she start?

I am glad she is excited.   It's better than being scared or angry.  She was prepared.  We've talked a lot about it.  She has memorized the Tampon Company pamphlet she received at school.  She was not scared at all.

Today, we talked for the zillionth time about leaving a clean bathroom at home and school.  We started charting her days.  I will teach her how to know when to expect it.

Her body fat percentage on our scale is 14.  We've been expecting it since it hit 13%.  I saw a documentary once that said at 13% body fat, girls have enough estrogen to start.

In my day, my mom would call everyone and tell them "Dee has become a young lady."  Let's go with that...it is more positive than anything I can come up with.