Do Over Parenting

My oldest is starting middle school in a few weeks. I have been watching all her baby and toddler videos the past few weeks and am amazed at how much she's grown and changed. If I could go back and do some things different...encouraged (pushed) her more when her fears stopped her from doing something she wanted to do and protected her from things (hindsight) that should never touch a child's life, I would. You don't get "do overs" in parenting though.

Now comes the stage of more firsts - dances, bras and best acne treatment as she maneuvers through puberty, group friend get togethers (no dating yet!), piles of homework, caring about how she dresses (now she wants to shop at Hot Topic while I can afford Wal-Mart, lol), and teenage mood swings. You know what, I think I am going to go hide in all those baby videos and ignore all of this until school starts and it hits me smack in the face that she's jumping over another milestone with starting junior high.