HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHERYL!

LOL - I was just going to say, wait until about 13- 14. She'll still be sweet - but maybe not to you - then it'll be time for daddy's girl to take over. Then, the later teenage rivalry. Almost all our friends have had mother-daughter communication issues in the older teenage times - but then get over it by around 20 or 23! But, you, along with my DSIL (DB's wife) could be the exception......

Ellice

If you're lucky, not 'til she's 16.

Elizabeth (that was a bear of a year for me)

"Lucille" wrote Naa! Even when she goes through the very normal teenage angst she will

I truly believe that. I loved my kids being teenagers--their friends, their music, the clothes, the hair.... (the way they demolished my refrigerator contents, the 3 a.m. phone calls....) It was soooo quiet when they went to university. So take advantage of this very interesting time in their lives. Dawne

Boy do you have that right! My dd just turned 13 last month and for about six months now, if I want a message to get across to her, I tell dad and have HIM talk to her!

Linda

Sorry, girlfriend. While I may only have nieces, nephews and godchildren - that with the years of working at a summer camp have me tuned into this one. I worked at a "sleepaway" camp for several years (300-400 kids) - through graduate school, and saw kids who were lovely children become terrors with the women as they were into the teens. Personally, mom and I really didn't get along well from about 14 til 22 (I still remember DD telling me that I was giving my DM a nervous breakdown, and he wasn't going to tolerate that - I was a soph in high school, but knew I was graduating the next year, plus had lots of college friends and classes, so.....).

Weirdly, and more recently, when the 1st godchild was bout 13, we saw it happen with her, particularly at 14-16 - taking her mom's place at the table when mom would get up for something, definitely hanging on her dad a lot, etc. With the next one, who's the freshman at MIT, it got bad at 15-17 - very testy with her mom, but like and on/off switch. I get to be the "eccentric, cool aunt" that they'll deal with - so to speak. It helps that they all really love DH.

Good luck - hang in there - it will get better!

Ellice

I remember when DD was about 12 or 13. She drove me totally crazy with her attitude....I remember saying to her " I love you dearly, but I DO NOT LIKE YOU AT ALL these days!".

She will be 46 on the 28th, and she can recall me telling her that! AND with three kids, 11-17, she can relate!

Gill

ellice wrote: > I get to be the

Yep. When my cousin's kid hit that stage, she was turned over to me to raise, via IM, because she'd listen to me. Her mom would e-mail a synopsis of the situation, I'd be sure to be online when she got home from school, and get the conversation around to what I wanted to discuss.

Since I'm stricter than her mom, it was understood that nothing that I would advise would be unacceptable to her mom. And, in fact, sometimes what I'd suggest would suddenly make mom's advice more palatable.

I'll just take one day at a time. There are the "I hate you days" and the "you're the best Mom in the world" days.

Then there are the "Mom, I need some thing camouflage for the All School Meeting" days....