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I love being a mother.  It’s rewarding beyond words and gives more satisfaction than any other experience known to man.  My daughter turned 11 on Friday, therefore moving closer to the teen stage of life.  Before her birthday, I found myself looking at her baby pictures and marveling at how fast the time has ticked by.  One day, she was this very plump cutie pie with cheeks so round, they blotted out her neck.  The next day, she’s standing at 5′2″ and making her own RPG video game and moving up the ranks on XBOX Live playing Turok, Gears of War 2, and Viva Pinata!

She’s a tween and I know this, but knowing it does not make it any easier to digest the fact that my “baby” is growing up…quickly.  We have already had the disagreements about what outfit will look better with a certain pair of shoes and whether the bangs will be needed when we go out.  She has not played with Barbie, Bratz, or any other doll since she was 5, but has learned all things electronic with an alarming speed.  So much so that I am afraid she will become a computer chip one day!  That aside, she is smart, sweet, sensitive, and loves animals and I could not have asked for a better child.  I am aware that she is changing with each year that passes and see a lot of myself in her.  That could be good…depending on which characteristic of mine she is exhibiting.

Being her mother is an absolutely wonderful experience.  Her “tween-hood” contains a mixture of hilarious and annoying moments, but all of it is interesting.  I am watching my daughter become a woman and look forward to each day because I know something new will develop.  Puberty should offer up moments that trump even the worst tween moments and make life more interesting, but I will be ready.  If you have a tween who just HAS to have the latest video game or electronic gadget or likes asking you, “Can’t you see my side?”, you know what I am talking about.  Yeah, raising a tween is fun!