The good, the bad, and the way too freakin' young!

My eldest daughter just turned 12. This is such a scary age, filled with ever present rapids that we are shooting without a paddle or a life jacket. I really feel for people with kids in middle school. I don't know how you do it. At least we don't have to deal with the bullying, horrible hazing, and negative peer pressure that so many struggle with. And thank Heaven for that, 'cause it's rough enough as is.

She wants to be independent and grown up but of course, she isn't. She wants control but hasn't learned real self restraint yet. So basically we butt heads daily, she and I. Then again, either we have very similar personalities or very different---not really sure--but either way we've always struggled to some extent.

But I have succeeded in one area. Probably only one, but whatever. She trusts me and looks to me for guidance even if she doesn't like the answer. She doesn't look to her friends for personal guidance for what she should wear, or believe, or act. When she hears something fishy she runs it by me. So underneath her prickly, hormone ridden, temperamental outbursts she is still a sweet, innocent, modest Christian. She cares about people and wants to do what's right.

But she also wanted to start wearing make-up.

My first instinct was to stick to the Chapstick/clear lip gloss rule. I wanted to say she was too young and stick to that for another year or two. But for once I stopped and thought about it before blurting out an answer. I prayed. Then I prayed some more. When I didn't get the answer I wanted, I tried praying again, but nothing doing. Everything led me to say yes. Not that I'm going to let her parade around in blue eye shadow in skimpy outfits as a walking advertisement for perverts and pedophiles. Not on my watch. Or as Mammy would say, "not while I's got breath in my body!"

So why did I cave and buy an entire make up kit for my not even teenage daughter? Well, it was sort of Sun Tzuish warfare. Firstly, it meant that I would buy her stuff that wouldn't make her already delicate and breaking out face worse. As opposed to cheapo WalMart crap that would make her face explode in craters when she bought the stuff with her meager allowance. True, I could forbid her to buy it, but she's crafty and sooner or later it would sneak in, I suspect.

Plus, I could select products that would complement her skin tone and really BLEND so that although she gets to wear all of it, she doesn't LOOK like she's wearing much at all. Which is the whole point of make-up but that's another post.

But the biggest reason I caved is that she has never expressed the lest desire to be at all feminine. She hates pink, anything sparkly, girly, or cute. Not in an immature "that's for babies" way, but in a "I want to wear clothes from the boys' department" way. So when she announced that she wanted to wear make-up I was thrilled on some level.

So last night was her big debut. Concealer, foundation, eye shadow, blush, mascara, and lip stick. We practiced twice and then she put it all on and went to her friend's birthday party. Of course she paired it with a t-shirt and jeans but Rome wasn't built in a day, and at least for now she is excited and happy about some thing girly and she didn't look goofy so I was happy. Price of total Artistry make up kit and brush set? Megabucks. Seeing your daughter glowing with pride and thrilled with the way she looks? Priceless.