By Jean M. Johnson
I have always been told that
children are a blessing, and teens are showing their
independence, as they become adults. The big
question here, is what is a pre-teen?
My oldest daughter is eleven, and
in many ways a very independent person, yet in other
ways, I still see signs of the little girl she once
was. With her, I have crossed the threshold of being
a person who knows everything, as my younger
children still see me, to having forgotten
everything I have ever learned.
My daughter and I were having a
conversation recently, more accurately; I was
conversing, while she was rolling her eyes at me.
The topic of conversation: current clothing styles.
From our discussion, I learned that I am:
1) A relic with absolutely no
taste,
2) Completely out of touch with
reality.
3) Totally clueless about what is
proper attire for women of today
4) Last, but not least, I learned
that I was old and set in my ways.
Now out of that list, the first
three items, I expect. It is normal for a person to
think of their parents as such. The one I have the
problem with is number four. When did I become OLD?
I am only 32 years of age. I am still in my prime
and have a long way to go before I need that old
rocking chair.
I have begun to believe that a
pre-teen’s goal in life is to make you question
yourself on everything that you do and say. When a
child reaches that age, you can no longer give a
brief explanation to answer their questions. It is
never enough. As they learn more, they cause you to
wonder in amazement, did I actually learn anything
when I was their age, or was all of my education a
figment of imagination?
A prime example of this is, my
nine-year-old daughter asked me to help her with a
math problem. During the course of explanations I
was providing, the eleven year old kept coming in
and saying, “Mom, you have the basic idea, but they
don’t do it that way anymore, now, in these modern
times, it is done like this.” She then proceeded to
show the nine-year-old how to do it.
This event caused me to sit back
and take a mental inventory of myself. Now, when I
was in third grade I know I learned to do that
problem, but how in the course of the years did my
methods of finding the answer become antiquated? It
all had something to do with the terminology I
believe. Kids no longer regroup by borrowing or
caring over; trading now does it all. Do different
words mean that my methods make it wrong?
Well, I tested the theory, and
thankfully got the same answer as the
eleven-year-old, which I promptly tried to show her
and gloat. In return, I got a blank stare and
another session of eyes rolling upwards. “Mother, I
understand that your answer and my answer came out
to be the same, but the way we get the answer is
much more efficient and time saving now.” She had
the nerve to tell me.
I am beginning to think I know
what the answer to my question is. A pre-teen is
Mother Nature’s version of a very complex logic
puzzle. Something that you can ponder on for years
and never quite get the solution.
A pre teen can also be a kind
loving person as mine showed me the other day. She
asked if she could go do something with her friends,
I told her no. After I had to explain my reason, she
lovingly placed her hand on my shoulder and said, “
It’s ok Mom, I understand, for you are old and set
in your ways.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: I am a stay
at home mom, with 4 wonderful daughters. love to
write as a hobby, but wouldnt mind writing for a
living. I have been married for 12 years, so having
survived 12 years of marriage, and four daughters, i
have a fine tuned sense of humor. |
