So my Lila absolutely HATES getting her hair combed. Like, “you need to inform me at least a week in advance of your plans to torture me by washing / detangling / twisting my hair so I can cry it out” hates. And of late, she’s taken to combing and styling her own hair to avoid my touching it.
Um, she’s 7.
I didn’t style my own hair until I was about 12, and believe me, it was a trial by fire. My mom was in the hospital for weeks with a really bad back injury, and so I had to fend for myself. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty (the hair or my styling efforts). It got even uglier when my Dad decided to put a jherri curl in my hair -- you know, to help me out. Right.
Anyway, it amazes me that my baby girl is so willing -- and able -- to fend for herself. Besides being able to style her own hair, she can pick out her own clothes and get herself dressed in the morning. She can get her own after-school snacks. She hasn’t a problem getting her homework done without an adult standing around, peering over her shoulder. When we take her to a restaurant, she can read her own menu and order her own chicken fingers and fries with a side of barbeque sauce, with a “please” and a “thank you.” It’s downright impressive.
And, for her mother, a little sad. Because while I’m happy my baby girl can hold her own, she’s still my baby, which means that I’m well on my way to not having any babies anymore...
To read the rest of "Miss Independent," click HERE to see my post in its entirety on The Parenting Post.
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