Ever since I was a little girl I've wondered what it would be like if I had a daughter. I took my dolls everywhere, saved up my allowance for months for a red headed Mandy, and actually kneeled down and prayed for Cabbage Patch with freckles like Strawberry Shortcake. However, between the incessant football and Call of Duty marathons that come with having boys, I've had to imagine the pretty clothes, dance recitals, braiding her hair, introducing her to Anne of Green Gables...
Yet today, (as some mysterious Divine intervention would have it), a wish was briefly granted. This afternoon I took the ladies of Mrs. Miller's 5th grade class down to see the school nurse for a lovely gathering of lemonade, chocolate chip cookies and a nice, little chat about menstruation. The 10 year old girls giggled slightly over the puberty song and dance from the animated video but were in complete and utter awe over the unveiling of the tampon. It was hard to believe that their mothers' hadn't informed them about this prior to receiving notice of it being Human Growth week, but if they needed to learn, then being in a supportive group of their peers and four women was the most nurturing environment to be in. Like a great big embrace.
Afterwards one of the girls (with the exact first and last name as my niece) even asked me for some advice. Not a question about what to say to a girl or what a cup is but a question about something I went through I myself at her age and learned on my own in the most embarrassing way possible. I only gave her general advice and told her that she could always talk to her own mom about it yet in that moment it felt like I could have been talking to my own daughter.
I think I need to spend some more time with my niece next time we visit. Maybe give her a lesson in how to apply makeup or help her shop for a prom dress four years in advance.
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