So I've recently decided I'm going to begin construction on a bubble for Ruth Ann to live in during her years spent in middle and high school. I want her to always be protected and stay as sweet and innocent as she is...or was since it was taken year ago...
I know this is a super random thought...but here's why it's been consuming my thoughts recently...
Before I ever had 2 biological children of my very own...I claimed these two as the first children I participated in raising...
The oldest in now a freshman in high school and the youngest (KB)has just entered the wild, wild world of middle school...KB was a little photo bomber before photo bombing was made popular...
I don't get to see these sweet faces as much as I once did during my childless and single days...but thanks to social media, I still get to keep up with the younger of the two. The older has always been wise beyond her years and she has very wisely decided to stay off of Facebook.
I've had my feelings hurt on Facebook and it was somewhat responsible for the end of a friendship...although as it turned out that friendship was super shallow anyway, so I can't completely blame social media. But because of that experience, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.
I've discovered Instagram in the last year...and since looking at people's pictures are what I really love most about Facebook, it's been a lot of fun...but I can see how it too can turn ugly very quickly.
KB is my friend on Instagram and for several months my heart has broken when I read & see her pictures.
She talks about wanting a boyfriend...but she's at the age where girls are interested in boys, but boys aren't interested in girls...yet.
She posts the prettiest pictures of herself and then requests people to "like" her picture if they think she's pretty...I've told her before I think she's so much more than just pretty...and she most definitely is! But I remember these days of wanting to look good for others more than wanting to look good for myself.
This past week she posted about a "she said, you said" drama she's going through with girls she thought were her good friends and as I read her comments I'm pulled back to the dark, dark days of middle school. I read them and I'm equal parts wanting to hug her silly but also wanting to beat up the mean girls who are making her life so hard right now. Oh, and I also want to start fashioning that bubble for Ruth Ann to live in to avoid these same awful years.
Last week she wrote "We're in 6th grade, there shouldn't be this much drama...". I seriously wanted to laugh out loud...not because I don't believe what she says, but I know just how true that statement is when you grow up in this town.
I love having a little girl...but I hate the thought of any other girl being mean to her...and because I'm a girl, I know it's coming...why do girls gotta be so mean?? Last year my cousin's daughter was a junior in high school and she was going through mean girl drama. I told her then...life is so much better after high school...for me, my college years were the best of my life...it's clearly the reward for surviving high school! Had I thought of it earlier, I would have had this bubble ready for KB when she started middle school too!
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