There's a Teenager in the House!

Once you actually have a baby and move beyond the first few weeks of pinching yourself to make sure you really are the one responsible for this human bundle, you need only hold on and they’ll take you on the most wonderful ride. You always know that something is coming, but you’re just never sure what it will be or when it will come.

Morgan turned 13 on Saturday. Thirteen! That means she’s a teenager and I’m the mother of a teenager. It’s hard to explain how I can have teenager when I don't feel much more than one myself. No really! I don’t feel nearly as old as I am, but I'm beginning to feel like I might have to dig into my years and find some wisdom to get me through the next decade. Of course ten years will only bring me to Will's 13th year!

Thirteen! So how does one usher in such a significant birthday? Keep in mind that we were never allowed to forget that Morgan’s birthday was coming. Each day for the past two weeks she let us know just how many days were left until she would say goodbye to her twelfth year. Also, we had to plan something for four girls that didn’t put us in the red. Something fun, memorable, yet guilt-free financially. Friday morning, the day before the event, Morgan and I settled on a plan. We would have a scavenger hunt at the mall followed by lunch at Scarlet Sparrow*. The plan was hatched and all that remained was for me to stay up too late drawing up the tasks.

The girls had to complete 13 tasks in 3 hours. They had to decipher the clues to find out which store to go to, and once there complete the required tasks. The tasks included having the manager in each store sign a birthday card, counting the number of orange and blue bracelets on display at Claire’s (over 200!), determining her ring size, gathering information on getting her ears pierced, selecting wedding china, trying on matching outfits & eating a new kind of candy. After all that we ate lunch, and headed home.

Once we had dropped everyone off, Morgan and I went home, where Caroline & Katherine had hidden 13 gifts. In order to find each gift Morgan had to solve the clues that David had written in short poems. She was a good sport and found them all, with only a few hints from her impatient sisters.

To round out her birthday weekend, we celebrated on Sunday with Grandmama & Granddaddy. They swam (for a very short time – the water was so cold!), we ate (too much!), watched the cake fall apart and ate it anyway, and then watched Morgan open more gifts! What a birthday!

So far we’ve been blessed with a mild-mannered child who is both gracious and grateful. If she can keep that up through her teens we’ll all be thankful.

* Red Robin - Years ago we stopped calling that restaurant by its real name for fear that by just naming the place we’d commit ourselves taking the brood to dinner.