I have a Tween

Sounds like a strange disease doesn't it....Tween. Sometimes it feels like that. Piper has moved from the world of little girl to tween and she may even make it to teen.

Maybe......thats a few years from now and I choose not to think about that at this time.

How did I come to this conclusion? Well, I have been considering the diagnosis for a few months now....various little things she would say or do that would make me suspicious...sudden worrying about her hair and clothing....such as "I am not wearing those jeans because they dont look cute" and "I just cant go to school with my hair in braids, it makes me look like a hobo". However yesterday during her snowday when I took the opportunity to ruin her life by having her clean her room, she informed me that she couldnt possibly clean her room and here is the resulting converstation:


Piper: Moooooom i canNOT possibly clean my room today. It will take me ALL day to clean my room and then I WONT have ANY time to watch television.

Mom: Wouldnt that be tragic...so you better get back upstairs and put your clothes away so you can come back downstairs and watch tv.

Piper: but MOOOOOM, I cant put my clothes away...I dont have any room, I have to many clothes

Mom: Thats funny, yesterday you didnt have anything to wear to school. Where did all you clothes come from?

Piper: But Moooooooooom (getting louder and whiner each time and visualize her drapped across the arm of the couch rolling from side to side to emphazie the trauma that the mean thought of cleaning her room has done to her)

Mom: Piper, in the time you have been whining about doing it...

Piper: I am not whining!! (now begins the tears) I just cannnot do it by myself, there is to much stuff, to much of a mess. I cant even walk to where my clothes are.

Mom: That would be the reason why you need to clean. Try picking up the stuff between you and the clothes, you could put that away and see how much room you have to walk then. Just a suggestion.

Piper: (she is not getting my humor) OOhhhhhhhhh......I think that is a terrible idea, that would be MORE work then what I started out with.

Mom: Well, I dont know what to tell you...those are my suggestions however in the time you have spent down here complaining about cleaning taking to long and you missing your tv, you could have had it done and be watching tv.

Piper: FINE, but this is the worst day of my life....you are sooo mean for not helping me clean my room. (commence stomping up the stairs, followed by the falling and/or throwing of webkinz down the stairs. I can only assume those are the objects between her and her clothing).

Mom: Sage, your big sissy is being such a girl.

25 minutes later, stomping feet on the stairs.

Piper: Mommy

Mom: Yessy

Piper: Mommy, I tried, I really did (sitting now on the arm of the couch) but I cant...I just cant...I just dont have enough room.

Mom: Piper, there is plent

Piper: MOM, your NOT listening...here is the PROBLEM.....(please insert hand motions with every word) I had to put my underwear in with my shirts and my socks in with my jammies and then my skirts in with my jeans and

Mom: why didnt you hang yours skirts up?

Piper: MOM, I am not done, please do not interrupt me, thats rude.

Mom: uh, uh, ummm, ok (I guess she was listening at some point)

Piper: So what exactly do you want me to do?

Now we sit in silence and look at each other. I am well aware now that the tides have shifted and that I no longer am the mom of a little girl. I have a daughter, a tween, something that isnt normal, cannot be rationalized with, is loving, sweet,wonderful and in a moments notice (well, not really, never any notice) wicked, silver tongue and crazed all at the same time. And taking me on this crazy train with her.

I could take this opportunity to cave, go upstairs and help her, but much like the U.S. I choose not to negotiate with terrorists (or tweens), so I take a more frightening route of informing her that I didnt care where her stuff went, as long as it wasnt on the floor and now she also needed to pick up all the toys she tossed down the stairs and put those away as well.

I was very happy to be holding her beloved baby brother when the tantrum over that information started.

All in all, after 2 hours of her complaining and reasoning why she couldnt possibly clean her room, she did managed to get it done. I was very proud (relieved) and gave her a big hug and kiss when she crawled into my lap and put her head on my shoulder. I turned on Disney for her and she snuggled up just like she did when she was 3. Thats life with a tween. To big for little kid things 1 minute, and still, just a little girl the next.

What will the next few years bring...I can only imagine and I canNOT wait to see!!!