Accelerated Childhood

I don’t know what happened but the childhood experienced nowadays is warp speed compared to when I grew up.  It seems today a child barely gets to have that time of innocence before they’re thrust into a world beyond their comprehension and maturity level.  It’s scary and sad.

For instance, my daughter is eight going on thirteen.  She worries about things that weren’t on my radar at that age.  This morning, she was whining because “her lips look too big”.  Really?!  Who on earth worries about that in second grade?  I tried to tell her it’s an asset and many women have made millions off of that look but to no avail.  She was convinced the world was ending because of her “chubby lips”.

There’s also the attitude….for the most part, she’s a very sweet, loving kid.  However, there’s the other side….the teenage sassiness and eye-rolling that I don’t recall having at eight.  One minute, everything is fine, and the next minute she’s having a fit and storming off like a hormonal thirteen year-old.   She rarely does this with her dad…I’m fortunate enough to have her save it for me.

I knew this would be coming because I believe in karma.  I was not the nicest to my mom as a teenager and still feel bad about it to this day.  It’s just coming so early, I thought I’d have a little time to prepare.  Nope.