In Training

Dear Emma,

As your 8th birthday approaches, I am reminded that my baby is a baby no more. You are blossoming into a young lady. It's evident. You're taller, you've gained an enormous amount of independence, you're facing the hard lesson of learning that there is a difference between leadership and dictatorship, and today, today you wore a bra to school.

When I picked you up from your after-school program, you talked about it, and I smiled. I smiled because you came to the conclusion that your new bra had to make an adjustment to your active lifestyle. The straps did not blend well with running and jumping and climbing. I assured you that, because your new bra really is adjustable, it'd be a quick fix. And tonight, when you were getting ready for bed, you came to me for your first lesson in new bra removal. What fun we will have when you get a new bra that actually has a hook and eyelet closure! I'm realizing that you are growing faster than I am adjusting, that some adjustments need to be made to our relationship, that you are not a baby to be babied, but a great big old girl to be guided into womanhood. Like your new bra, I can quickly adjust to that.

Love,
Mommy