Bullies and braids and bras . . . oh my!

I start my day with Brooke asking for the 100th time if she can have a bra. She’s 8. Why does an 8 year old need a bra? She doesn’t. She is bombarded, however, by the message that she does. When we go to stores that sell clothing for girls her age, they have bras. Her favorite TV stars are photographed with their bra straps showing. So she thinks she needs one. I put her off again. “We’ll see.”

So we head out to a fun day camp for the girls! They love this camp because they get to jump and play. I love it because they come home exhausted and go to bed easily. But today, when I go to pick them up, they are not loving it. Brooke is crying and Emma is consoling her. A little bully has ruined their summer day. I’m so mad I can’t see straight. This little girl was mean to my daughters, taught them words that I don’t even use, and even showed them attitude I was hoping they would not see until they were at least 13.

After a long day we settle in for a little bit of family time. Emma decides today is the day she would like to learn to braid. Fabulous. I am fresh out of patience and she is a little young for the task. This should go well. After a bit of frustrating practice on her doll, we switch to thread. Still a challenge. Then, eureka. The light bulb goes off and she begins to braid. I give her back the doll and she puts little braids all over that doll. She completely got it. She learned something new today in just an hour. I’m so proud.

Bullies, braids and bras. 3 more things nobody EVER told me to prepare for before we decided to have babies. I’m adding them to my list. It’s a long list.

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