Girls like boys

It is official, my baby girl is no longer a baby girl. Wahhhhhhhh! I could cry and laugh all at the same time. She has discovered that she likes boys, AND that boys like her. She will be 12 years old in just about a month.

Wow, 12 years ago seems like yesterday. I can still hear my Uncle Don as he came through the hospital door singing "They call the wind Mariah" in his beautiful voice. I tell this story all the time, but it was also bring your daughter to work day. The delivery nurse brought her 12 year old daughter to work to view Mariah's birth that day. What do you say when your legs are in stirrups and that pushing feeling is coming over you and the nurse nonchalantly says "You don't mind if my daughter watches you give birth do you?" Why yes I just might if I could concentrate on what you are saying while all my private parts hang out here for the viewing!!!!!

So a few of Mariah's friends have had a BOYFRIEND for whatever that word means at age 12. A boy that likes a girl I guess. I thought my tomboy would be the one who didn't like boys for a long time. She is the girl that wears all her brothers hand me downs like they are the best name brand clothing you can find. Teachers and her coaches have actually asked me if she ever removes the sweatshirt in the picture above. The only time you will catch this girl in a dress is for a very special occasion, Christmas, Easter, Father daughter dance. Other than that she is in clothing that she can run and jump faster and better than any boy, you just ask her.

Last week a boy she wasn't sure if she liked said the words to her. Mariah I like you! She was really surprised, she thought he might like her but she didn't know for sure. My little thinker didn't know what to say. She was speechless for that moment and then got all shy. She came home to tell me about it and that she thought she liked him to. I talked to her about how you should be nice to everyone even if you don't like the boy in the same way. You never know how you will feel about him later in life, and you never want anyone to feel badly about their feelings they have. It is a big compliment that a boy likes you and even bigger when a lot of the boys in your class like you. We had the discussion that she is 12 and cannot have a boyfriend. I have told her many times the same thing. He is a boy and your friend that you like a little more than the other boys. But that is it! No BOYFRIENDS for her for a long time. She sat and thought about it for a week on what she was going to say to this poor little boy who had poured his heart out to her.

Finally last night she got up the nerve at the skating party and told him she likes him too. It was so cute. She came right over to tell me that she had finally done it. All her friends at the party knew and the news spread like wild fire. I saw the boys mom whom I am on a friendly basis with and wondered if she knew the news flying around. I didn't say anything because of course this will pass on by as quickly as it has started. I remember this age and the quickness the likeness wears off.

Sad to see the last of the younger years leaving and the pre-teen years beginning. Lord give me strength to make it through this one. I think I am going to need it. I am afraid I might actually have to hide her away, the boys are chasing her already and we haven't made it to puberty yet. The idea of a convent is not such a bad thing some days. Or that all girls school.....

Best Dog Ever

This love story started back in the year 2ooo. We decided to get a new puppy to replace our dog that had been put down. Foolishly we thought that two black lab puppies would be better than one. Let me tell you all, DON'T DO IT!! It ended badly for one of the puppies and was a very sad time.

The other puppy Storm grew to a great old age. He was the best dog I could ever ask for. He was a babysitter, friend, helper and true love of my kids lives. Mariah was one years old when we brought him home, Colton was 4 and Anthony 11. Storm was Anthony's dog in every way, but he shared him with all of us. They grew together and loved. He was the best friend two little boys, a little girl, and all their cousins and friends could ask for. There was never a ball, stick or body of water that he would not chase or jump into. Hours upon hours of chasing a ball, sitting next to the swimming pool waiting for his kids to splash him or throw the ball he dropped in for him. Always by their side when they were home, or sitting close to the window waiting for them to come back to him.

Storm considered it his job to make sure his kids were safe, and no stranger was ever allowed with in feet of them. This was Storm's personal mission. Storm would put his body between anyone he did not know and his kids. He was a great protector, I knew my kids were always safe outside when their dog was with them. He would herd the little ones if he felt they were to close to the edge of the grass, bark if the kids left the yard and he didn't want them to.

Hard to remember the trials of the puppy days, but there were all the usual, chewed up drywall, chewed up furniture. The nights being up all night. The chasing down of a rogue puppy running the neighborhood. The dog police showing up at our house, giving us our third and final notice, if our dog escaped again someone was going to spend some time in the pokey. They let us know there are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners which I guess is very true. We have laughed about that for many years now. Food snatched from the table or counter. Now these seem such a small price to pay for the unconditional love that was given for 11 years.

We have known that the time was coming close. I have tried to prepare my children for the sad part of life.....death. It is not easy and so hard to understand. How to explain it is best that we put our dog to sleep so he does not suffer anymore. We don't do that to humans so how can I expect my daughter to understand it is okay to do to her best friend? How do I answer the questions she has. She is worried that our other dog and cat are not going to understand where Storm has gone. Worried she will forget how Storm's fur feels, the sound of his bark when she gets home. That he will no longer be lying next to her bed during the night making her feel safe.

This has been a hard week at our house. Reality has come, and today our best friend is going to sleep forever. My kids hearts are breaking and I cannot stop the pain. My daughter has cried herself to sleep every night. My oldest is brooding and quiet, spending as much time here with his friend as he can. My middle child is silent and unhappy. We have had a parade of cousins and friends that grew up with Storm coming by to spend a few minutes with him. He is loved by so many and will be missed by all. He has been my constant companion, there when the kids have left me for school, keeping me company and always making me feel safe.

Goodbye to THE BEST DOG EVER. I can't stop crying. My life once again is changing, a constant in my life is leaving us and I am going to be sad for so long. I hate that I cannot fix the pain my children are feeling, but recognize this is an important part of life. Death sucks, but we all know that we have to face it and deal with it.

Thank you Storm for your unconditional love and beauty that you have given us for 11 of the best years. We will love you and think of you often.

HAPPY / SAD

I don't really like change. I know, hard to believe! Today I am learning that change is okay. Everything has a time and the time has come now for my son to leave club soccer. It is hard to let go of that in some ways, but such a major relief in other ways.

I asked Colton if he was sad and will he miss his friends from soccer. He said not that sad and he will keep in contact through facebook with a lot of the boys. Then he said how much he will miss the weekly practice and his coach. Luckily he is starting his wrestling season and then the potential for so many other things. He will have open weekends, the first in a very long time.

I will miss seeing him practice and play competitive soccer. He is a good player, such potential that the coaches never tapped into. I will miss the friends I have made along this journey with him. The bond of our children being on the same team for multiple years. It is like letting go of a piece of me I didn't know defined me so much. I will still be a soccer mom, but now I will be a football/wrestling mom too. This is a good reminder that I am more than just the mom, I am me with so many outside interest that I have put on the back burner for this sport.

I will not miss the politics on his team, the drain on our income, or the doubts about Colton's abilities. This is really a racket someone has come up with, I tell ya. Money poured into a sport so your child can make the high school team, and then they tell you don't play high school soccer, only club if you want to be a real soccer snob. The money in this sport is crazy and crazier that we as parents fall into the trap. In the world of competitive soccer if you are not on the "A" team, then your abilities are never fully recognized, they just take your money and tell you to keep striving for the top team. I will not miss that one small bit, but will still have it while Mariah plays club soccer.

The good news is that he is very good at lots of sports and will go on to participate in them for high school. I will still be Colton's mom just not always on the soccer field. Now I will have one winter season of sitting in a gym instead of always on the soccer field.

I find it such different worlds for boys and girls and their team commitments. Boys can commit to a team and play with anybody if they are of the same ability as themselves. Girls, on the other hand, really need to bond on an emotional level with their teammates to really feel comfortable and compete together. I find it fascinating the way it works. Colton has loved his team, liked the players but never found it necessary to hang out with them after the game/practice time. The boys that attend the same school do hang out together, but the rest are just friends at practice. Mariah on the other hand, loves her team, is friends with all the girls and chooses to hang out with them outside of soccer.

Here is to a new season in life for Colton. May he find this path to be the best of choices. I know he will be happy and do well. He is looking forward to high school next year and all it has to offer. I am looking forward to one less sporting event every weekend. School sports are the best because they don't usually take up all your weekends of the year.

So that is the answer, happy to be on to a new chapter, sad to see this chapter close. It means it is one step closer to my children growing up, I am not always that prepared for this to happen.