Twelve Starts with a Bang

In pondering what I would write to sum up who Alexis is as she enjoys her first day as a twelve-year old, it occurred to me that describing the shenanigans that led up to her party sums it up perfectly.

This kid. This kid started planning for her 12th birthday party right around kindergarten because of course she did. She spends every minute of every day worried about tomorrow and trying to do things that will make it better. But as the weeks turned into years and the countdown reached Birthday o'Clock, Alexis froze. She wasn't sure what to do.

All of the plans she had made were in doubt.

So, she started over. She started with a new plan and then another plan and then another one because all of the things seemed to get in the way. She wanted a big party but a small one but WHAT SHOULD I DO, MOM? The main thing that stressed her out was wanting to invite all of the people. She doesn't care what other people think but she wants to make all of the people happy and have I mentioned that her career assessment at school came back "politician?" Because hahahahahaha ... yes. That's exactly it. She wants to make the world a better place but hasn't figured out how to do that while also making everyone happy.

(A hint for future Alexis -- money destroys good intentions. Try to look past the money.)

ANYWAY. A plan was still not in place a week ago, so I looked the kid in the eye and said, "Tell me what we're doing. Now. Go."

She replied, "Mommyyyyy, decide for me!"

Normally I would be all in on the making the kid be independent and make a decision and all of that, but she is undoubtedly the strongest and most independent person I know, so screw that. Everyone gets to call for an assist once in a while. Knowing when to ask for help is a skill unto itself.

I booked two rooms at a hotel, handed the kid 10 invitations, and said, "Work it out."

And she did.

There was swimming and manicures and pizza and games and talking. Sooooo much talking. All of the talking. Have I mentioned that my ears still hurt? Because my ears still hurt. Ten sixth graders can make an amazing amount of noise, even when they're doing their best to be quiet. Fortunately, Alexis collects good people, so while an entire night locked in a hotel with that many tween girls could have been awful, it was actually fine. Fun, even.

(Shhhhh! Don't tell the girls I had fun! They will expect me to be nice more often and we can't have that.) (Especially because it turns out that all tween girls are slobs and ARGH. CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES. ESPECIALLY YOU, ALEXIS.)

Alexis agreed with that "fun" assessment. She declared as we were driving away from the hotel this morning, "That was SUCH a good party."

You're welcome, kid. Welcome to twelve. I hope it's your best year yet.