High school scares me

Friday found me at the local high school. My daughter’s only in grade one, but the entire elementary school was going to the high school for the annual Terry Fox run. My husband and I took the little one to cheer her on, and although I intended to walk while my daughter ran, the little one had other ideas and I ended up actually running for the majority of the hour.

The high school’s boys’ football team and girls’ soccer team joined us and they were fantastic. They encouraged the kids who were struggling with being tired, they chatted with kids who were sitting on the benches for a break, and they were just all-around very enthusiastic about the whole thing (ah, athletes!).

But you know what? I realized how happy I am that I have one daughter in grade one and another not even in school for another three years – because I am clearly not ready for high school girls in my home. Have high school girls always been that gorgeous and tall and self-assured? I don’t think so, because I sure as heck wasn’t. And even the popular girls in my school weren’t as beautiful and pulled together as these girls were. I found myself staring, it was like watching a Miley Cyrus video or something.

I’m not even close to ready for girls who are that age. I know time has a way of speeding up, but thank goodness I still have a little while to go before I hit the teenage years!

Any words of wisdom from parents of teens?