Humor Me Puhlease ;)

My tweenie is getting all too growed up, all too fast. She has been bugging me since March to let her shave her legs. I just don't think I'm ready for that yet. But then again, she is going to grow up whether I want her to or not. And if I don't help her out and explain things to her and show her how to do things? I just don't want to think about what kinds of wrong ideas that will give her. Or that her friends will give her.

Last weekend, after her halloween stay-over party... she asked me if she was going to get the Gardisil vaccine. Because her friend V was talking to her about it and had gotten it. V is at least 2 years older than tweenie. We had actually talked to our family physician about it and she suggested around the age of 13 (which is how old V is). So, thanks to V, I had to explain a few things to tweenie.

Then on Wednesday, during the debate, tweenie asked what abortion was. Thank God she asked during the debate and my husband wasn't too shocked to say anything and he told her we would talk about it later because we wanted to hear the debate. Now I have to come up with how to explain that one to her. Thank you presidential debate.

Back in March when she first started asking me if she could shave her legs, I put her off by saying that she needed to show me that she was responsible enough to do the "necessary" things like taking a shower, brushing her teeth and hair, clipping her nails and remembering to put deodorant on without being told before she could move on to the more optional things. She remembered to do some of those things for a couple of days after each conversation... I don't know what it is with the girls her age, but they do *not* like taking baths or showers. My step daughter is 9 mos older than tweenie and is the same way. Neither of them will do any self-maintenance things unless and until you specifically tell them to.

And sometimes, I hate to admit, I am not completely on top of it all and may forget to remind them to do these things. They will not say anything. They will run around unshowered for as long as it takes me to remember to tell them to go shower.

When I was that age? I'll be damned if I didn't take a shower every other day if not daily. And the first time I smelled my own armpits? That's when I totally started showering daily come hell or highwater! And I never would have left the house without putting on deodorant. I mean there were cute boys at school! And tweenie and the step-daughter? They are totally into boys too! Don't they want to smell good for those boys?

But back to the shaving thing. The other day Tweenie tells me that her leg hair is embarrassing and can't she puhlease start shaving? If she remembers to shower for the rest of the month without being told can't she puhlease start shaving? Everyone else in her class does! I tell her that its almost winter and there's no point in starting now because she'll be wearing pants until spring. But no! There's gym class and she'll be wearing shorts for gym class. Well, she's got a point there. But the embarrassing part? I told her that what would embarrass me more than unshaven legs was smelling bad. She looked at me like I was joking around with her. I told her I was serious. I would so rather be caught with hairy legs than with horrid BO! I would go out in public with stubbly or fully hairy legs way before I would ever leave the house without showering and lathering on the deodorant.

I told her I would think about it.

I asked my step-daughter's mother if the step-daughter had start shaving yet. She is a year older. And she said that just last week she'd helped her shave her legs and armpits with an electric shaver. And I think that when I do let tweenie shave it will totally be with an electric shaver. Part of the reason I've been so hesitant is thinking of the mess that tweenie will invariably leave behind in the bathroom...and all the knicks she will end up with on her leg because she will be trying to do it so fast...and the potential of her using my razors... Electric shaver seems like the way to go. Now for the when part... Can't they just stay 5 forever???

Please help me out by voting in my poll on the sidebar! :)