Kontan Jou

Yesterday our oldest turned 12.  Today, we shall let her eat cake.  (and ice cream and cookies and chips and cheese dip and chocolate)  Today, we shall celebrate…her. 

We have been in NC since August 1 and I think for the first time our Big Kid has made real friends.  Yes, she has had friends before, but I don’t know how “real” they were.  This is the first time she has had several girls over for a birthday party.  Usually it is just one, maybe two and family.  Her interaction with friends is different now too.  It is laden with the excitement I remember from my own preteen/teen years.  The joy of being with friends you can be goofy with can be seen on her face.  It warms my heart to know that our first born is finding her place in this world, and is being accepted by her peers.  Acceptance is something we all crave, and we thrive from it.  Even when we claim a non-conformist view of the world, we still want to be accepted in it…accepted for who we are.

Now. . . if I don’t put the laptop away and get to cleaning I will be embarrassed come 2:00 PM.  Don’t get me wrong, Jem has done a wonderful job keeping the house maintained.  However, from a mother’s point of view the bathrooms and floors need a good scrub, decorations will have to be utilized and cheese dip prepared.  Time to get started.