She's Growing Up (Sniff)

Last night Daughter #3 bought her first cell phone. I suppose that fact in and of itself is not really blog worthy, but there's a bigger issue here. For the past several years, when all of her friends started getting their own phones, she made a conscious decision not to get one. Later when some of them moved on to their second phone (and in one girl's case, her third and fourth), Daughter #3 was even more determined that she wasn't going to get one. She was afraid she might become addicted to the thing, as they had seemingly become. I asked her several times if she minded that she was one of only a handful of teenagers left in North America who hadn't joined the 21st century. She said it didn't phase her a bit.

So imagine my surprise when she woke up yesterday morning and asked me if I'd like to go to the mall with her later that night to pick out a cell phone. As I tagged along, she impressed me with her presence of mind. She went to all the different retail outlets, spoke to the salespersons, got the brochures, and made an informed decision. Even the sales clerk who rang up her purchase complimented her on her maturity of doing it all on her own. I sensed she was pleased with herself.

A few minutes later, as we walked down the mall, I happened to glance over at her. She had that same look on her face that she and both her older sisters had when they first got their ears pierced. I could almost read her thoughts. It was something like: "Okay, act natural, don't look too excited. But, man, I'm SO cool now I can hardly stand it!"

So now that she's joined the 21st century, I guess I probably should, too. Not only should I learn how to text so I can keep in touch with her, I should probably actually remember to take my phone with me. And turn it on.

Dixie