Thirteen Candles

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #7:

Beginning

We’ve hit a milestone here at the Brittish house: we have our first teenage girl!

Daisy turned thirteen on Wednesday.

I’m not sure what sort of things are coming my way now that she’s thirteen. I mean, I was a teenage girl myself once, so I sort of know, but I also don’t know. The teenager spectrum is too broad to make any solid predictions about my own posterity. 

When I was pregnant with Daisy, we decided not to find out what we were having. It took so much discipline to follow through and to look away from the ultrasound screen (I had to be monitored for placenta previa, so go figure that when I’m trying to NOT peek at my baby, we end up having to do extra imaging). When she was born, and Scotty told me we had a girl, it was one of the most memorable moments of my life. She had dark hair adorned with a little white bow. She was my smallest baby - the only one under 8 lbs. It took us til right before leaving the hospital to finalize her name. I remember bringing her home and whispering to her over and over, "Thank you for coming to our family!" Scotty and I were both head over heels in love with her and would fight over who got to hold her.

Daisy quickly grew into a miniature version of myself... but somehow, also a miniature version of my mom and a miniature version of my mother-in-law. How she is all three, I'll never understand, but sometimes I throw my hands up in the air and yell, "I AM RAISING MY MOTHER!" or to Scotty, "I AM RAISING YOUR MOTHER!" And in our worst head-butting moments, I think, "WHY ARE YOU LIKE ME?" 

Daisy is wonderful, though. As much as we butt heads, she also amazes me. There are times when Eva and Zoe are out of control and Daisy is the only one who can fix it. She is very thoughtful and loves doing things for others. Her teachers have always given me very positive feedback about her, and they always say she is reliable and a good student. I have seen her stand up for what's right a few times recently on her own, without parental influence. 

To celebrate Daisy becoming a bonafide teenager, here’s a list of thirteen things she loves:

1. Texting - she has a Gabb phone. She’s on it constantly. I don’t see any smart phone privileges coming her way any time soon.

2. Squishmallows - she has over 20.

3. Lotion - she’s always complaining that her hands are dry. “Mom, do you have any lotion? Mom, do you have any lotion?” 

4. Chapstick - she is Napoleon Dynamite. Her lips hurt really bad.

5. Music - she loves being in charge of the Alexa and the car radio. She also sings a lot.

6. Friends - they are everything. 

7. Tie dye - 90% of her wardrobe is tie dye.

8. Mini Disney backpacks - she has two of them and takes them everywhere.

9. Baby animals - who can blame her? Squee!

10. Dancing - she used to fight me about going to dance class, but now she enjoys dancing and practices a lot at home. 

11. Going shopping - she’s always saying “We should go to a store!” She used to always want to spend her money right away, but now she saves it up and shops smarter. 

12. McFlurries - she asks everyday if I’ll take her to get a McFlurry. 

13. Chicken nuggets - they’re a bit of an obsession in our home, but Daisy is the biggest “nuggie” fan of them all. 

Happy Birthday and Happy Teenagerhood to my first daughter! This is the beginning of my life raising teen girls!

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