Ya Take the Good, Ya Take the Bad....

Who can finish this title? Go ahead, you know you loved Natalie, Blair, Tootie, Jo and Mrs. Garett. Answer: "You take them both and there you have 'The Facts of Life.'" Remember that show? I loved that show. I felt so grown up when I got to watch it. Luckily lots of things went over my head when I was little. I was pretty naive until I was 12 or so. Not like today, where my kiddos can't even watch nighttime TV without me muting it at least a few minutes.

Part of life is looking at the glass half-full or half-empty. It's all about mindset.   My grandma used to say, "If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." She was really smart. She always had the best advice for almost everything. She was awesome. She used to tell me that all the heroines she admired in books were strong, opinionated women who didn't need a man, and could more than take care of themselves. Maybe that sounds familiar.....

So now we enter the age of parenting tweens. Sucks. Don't do it. Except you don't have a choice. We have crushes, frenemies, zits, make up debates and crazy questions about periods, dating, sex and when can I....or why can't I....

It's true what people say. You never really appreciate your parents until you are a parent. Let it be known, that I appreciate my parents--all of them. I appreciate them not killing me when I was 13 and had my flair with attitude buttons, or when I thought curfews were dumb, or that one time I wanted to ....well, never mind.

The way I parent is all about time. The time I spend with my kids one on one; the time I spend at their school; the time I spend worrying if they'll make good choices and choose good friends; the time I spend cooking, cleaning and learning new things for their benefit; the time we spend watching movies, baking, doing crafts, shopping, reading or playing flys up.

As I take a deep breath and enter into the unknown tween world, I hope I have the endurance to pull it off. I know I will make mistakes, but the best lessons sometimes come from those "scars." I appreciate the opportunity to help them become who they are destined to become, and hope 20 years from now when they are where I am, they'll realize all the things I did was for their good. In the meantime, I am preparing for the eye rolls (mine mostly, but the girls can throw it too), looks of doubt, tears (again, mine and theirs) and other fun from my fabulous five.