At the end of the school year, my daughter looked beautiful, dressed for her senior prom.  Her long waist-length black hair was pulled back simply from her face and flowed down her back in long cascading waves thanks to her friend’s efforts with a curling iron on her straight locks. Her off-white dress was a fitted sparkly beaded bodice around her petite figure and from her waist the fabric flowed down to the ground in multiple soft folds of chiffon.

She had gotten dressed at a friend’s house; her dad and I had gone over there for pictures. Parents, dates and girls were standing in the living room talking and I watched my daughter from a few feet away.  For a moment, she forgot she was a senior girl with an attitude; for a moment she was a little girl again, twirling her dress, feeling like a princess and delighting in the feel of airy pleats of fabric billowing to her graceful movements.

I wonder where that little girl went. This teenager that shuts her door and answers questions in monosyllables…can I please get some modifications to this model?  I would like the model that speaks in full sentences about her day with actual subjects, verbs and maybe some direct objects with lots of descriptive adjectives. Oh and while we’re at it, let’s add the quality where she says to me at the end of a long day…”Mom, you look tired, I will make dinner.” Of course with that model, her bathroom would stay tidy and clothes would hang in the closet rather than be draped across the floor. Most of all though, I’m sure that model would give me spontaneous hugs and thank me often for being such a wonderful mom.

My daughter will be leaving for college at the end of this summer. I’m sure eventually I will miss her however my feeling right now is more akin to 8 1/2 months pregnant …I’m ready for a change.