Today (and almost everyday) I want to punch Moms (okay, all parents, but for today’s lesson I will be referring mostly to Moms) who raise their daughters to think so low of themselves that the daughter will allow themselves to be treated like shit by boys just because any attention is better than no attention. These girls fall prey to boys who know how to play the sweet talking game and can spot an easy mark.

I have two teenage daughters and they tell me stories about girls at their school that curl my toes and make me want to go punch people in the throat. Girls with herpes because a scumbag guy convinced them that oral sex was “safe”. Girls getting grabbed and forcibly kissed in the hallway at school because they don’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him they aren’t “into him that way.” Not to mention the hidden victims that “disappear” for a term or year or more because they attempt suicide, get pregnant, have abortions, etc. These girls are the cutters, drinkers, druggies, but they are also the athletes, honor students, cheerleaders, church goers, Girl Scouts and they are all somebody’s daughter. They are trying to hide pain that they are feeling but don’t want anyone else to see.

But time and time again the one common denominator I see in these girls lives are parents that aren’t there for them. To tell them they are not just smart and beautiful but important and worthwhile. That having a boy like you isn’t the be all and end all of your life. That is what society has been telling these girls for generations, they need another message from home. From the people that, believe it or not, are the most important and influential people in their lives, their parents. As parents it is easy to fall into believing what we are told by the media, that by the time our daughters reach middle school, they don’t listen to us anymore and their friends, tv, movies and the internet are more influential. Bullshit. We only lose our influence and importance if we let it happen.

We stay relevant to them by staying involved. Talk to them everyday. Know who their friends are and ask about them and their lives. Keep current with what is going on in the  media and society. This doesn’t mean you have to be the “cool Mom” and dress like your daughter and hang out with her friends. Just know what they are talking about when they reference music, movies, memes and other social media things. Just don’t over do it and become that annoying “trying to be hip Mom”. Just take time to be genuinely interested and to listen. Also don’t push your daughter to be something or someone she isn’t or doesn’t want to be. If you were a dancer and gymnast but your daughter would rather be on the debate team, it’s okay. If you were a Rhodes Scholar but she is an artist and not much of an academic don’t make her feel stupid because she isn’t taking AP Calculus. If everyone else in your family is a dentist or a pediatrician but she is an outgoing, theater kid make sure she knows that it is okay and promise her that everyone will turn their pagers off when they come to see her perform.

But most importantly talk to them about things like sex, boys, drugs, drinking, etc. Sometimes I say I’m a good example to my daughters by being a bad example. When the topic has come up and my daughters were the appropriate age I was honest about these topics and how they affected my life both positively, but mostly negatively. I don’t think it will give them a free pass to do stupid things in their lives but it will give them the knowledge that if they do they can come to me and I will understand and not be judgmental. Let’s face it, as much as we’d like it, there is no way to keep our children from making mistakes. If there was they’d never learn to walk, drive, love, or grow up. Do I think my parents were bad parents or screwed up because I made a LOT of stupid choices in my young adult years? Not at all, quite the opposite, they gave me a great foundation to build on so when the rocky parts happened my life didn’t fall completely apart.

So to all those Moms out there who are blaming their daughters for ruining their lives because they never wanted to have children, and Dads who say rude and nasty things about their daughter’s bodies and make misogynistic remarks about women in front of their daughters, and parents that shelter their daughters from the realities of life so much that when faced with real life they can’t handle it, consider this your punch in the throat.  And to all the daughters of those parents, if you need a place to go to feel safe and loved, my door is open. I’ll only tease you for bad grammar.

Wednesday is the first day of school for the new year. All Moms everywhere know what means. Shopping. Shoot me now. Or rather why didn’t someone shoot me on Sunday? Please.

Shopping with (or for) my girls is so hard. Don’t misunderstand, they aren’t whiners and don’t beg for inappropriate things that we can’t afford. Rather both of them are next to impossible to find clothing that fits them. And the problem is a matter of extremes.

If I had to name the biggest failure I’ve had as a mother it would be Sarah and her weight. I noticed very early on that she was getting chubby at about 6 or 7 years old. We were homeschooling at the time and I tried to find ways to incorporate more physical activity into our day. I also signed her up for soccer, dance and gymnastics at different times to try to meet both her social and physical needs. All to no avail. She inherited the family disdain for organized sports and group activities. As time went on and her size increased I tried different things at the same time trying to NOT make an issue of it all.

Growing up in the 70s and 80s in the era of after school specials and “very special episodes” of Family Ties and Blossom, I was hyper-aware of what negative implications might come from a mother obsessing about her daughter’s weight. I didn’t want her to have self-esteem issues and eating disorders. Instead I failed in the opposite direction. I figured she’d eventually decide it was time to do something about it and when she wanted to slim down I’d be there to help her in a positive and healthy way. And we’ve tried. Lord knows we’ve tried.

To add insult to injury Emma is tiny. She takes after my sister in law who was 115 pounds and had a 32 inch waist two weeks after giving birth to her first son. I know this because she was in my wedding party and I had to take her measurements to the seamstress who was making my bridesmaids’ dresses at the time. Emma is going into 7th grade and still can’t shop in the Junior’s Dept. I finally bought her one of those pathetic little padded bras because she was so depressed about never getting boobies. She is built somewhat like a gazelle or young thoroughbred. All legs and no curves. Many would envy her (I know her sister and I have our moments) but in reality it is as hard as the other extreme that is her sister. Her friends are getting bras because they need them and are getting their first periods and filling out bathing suits and cute sundresses in ways she may never get to do. She can only find clothes that really fit her (but are too short) with Jonas Bros. and Dora the Explorer emblazoned across them. She has a fierce sense of style and has a hard time being able to realize it.

Emma’s situation is easier on me as a Mom. She may grow, she will eventually go through puberty. It isn’t as hard on the psyche to be skinny in our society. Being a size 00 has its hardships but for the most part it is something that is looked at as a positive in our culture. I’m don’t agree with this but it is what it is. She can’t help or take credit for the genetic lottery she won.

Sarah’s situation on the other hand is something I struggle with on a daily basis. Days like today are particularly hard on both of us. It got to the point that we just gave up trying to find clothes around here. For a few years I made her most of her clothes. That was fine until the teen years hit and she wanted to wear what everyone else wore. Nobody wants to be the girl who wears clothes her Mom sewed for her! Then we found a few stores in the big mall an hour away that carried fashionable stuff in her size. Today even that was an epic FAIL. We did eventually find enough to get her by but I felt so defeated and I know she was pissed. On a positive note, she did find a beautiful dress for Homecoming. She looks so pretty in it but I know that she doesn’t feel as pretty as she really is and should feel at this age.

I can’t help but feel like it is my fault. I was responsible for the food in the house and what she ate. I didn’t make her exercise or stick with a sport. I kept telling her it was okay and she was fine when she clearly wasn’t. I wanted her to have a good self image. But instead I fed her a lie. Now it has gotten to the point where she has been in denial about it and it is affecting her health. I know she wants to fix it. I know it is serious and she won’t be able to do it alone. I also know it will take some serious tough love on my part to help her achieve what needs to be done. I’m not feeling up to it right now but I know I don’t have a choice.

Any resources or advice internet? Especially anything geared specifically toward teens?

**This post will probably be made “personal/private” very soon to try to preserve some semblance of dignity for my girls. I just have to put it out there for my sanity.

That is just one small reason why I’m glad my girls aren’t that age anymore. If you hadn’t already figured it out, I am the mother of teens. Sarah will be 16 in early October so I am right in the meaty thick of teen-dom. Emma is 12 and is right on the cusp of the technically teen years but anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes with a 12 year old girl will know that it is all just a number. And guess what? It really isn’t all that bad. When babies are born and all through those wee years we mothers are constantly admonished to “enjoy it while it lasts” and “they grow up so fast” and “before you know it she will be a teenager *shudder*” etc. etc. While all that is true I must confess that many times I said to myself that I wish they would hurry up already and just grow up!

If I could slow the clock down now I would. I love these years. I enjoy being around teens (even other people’s teens! I know, right?) When the girls were younger I have to say I didn’t really like being around other people’s kids. I always did my duty volunteering in the church nursery and hosting play groups but I never enjoyed it. I don’t miss having a baby around. My now absent uterus never puckered when I saw a new baby. The end of my child-bearing years didn’t send me into a depressive tail-spin. (Lord knows I had enough other crap doing that for me!) But now I don’t mind being the house that hosts the pool parties, after-show cast parties, Girl Scout campouts and being the general hang out place. Teens are funny and very entertaining. Maybe because I can’t really remember much about being 5 but I certainly remember a lot about being 15 that I can just relate and understand them so much more. A few of the now teens that are hanging around I’ve know since they were in elementary school and it is really interesting to see who they are becoming. The boy who was obsessed with pandas has grown into a very polite young man with a smart sense of humor. The girl with the uncontrollable giggles and constant chatterbox has grown into a bit of an emo/goth girl with a heart of gold. The only ones that annoy me are the rude ones (luckily not many of those because my kids hate rude people as much as I do) and the ones that can’t communicate. I understand being shy, especially around someone’s parents for the first time, but if you’ve known me for 5 years and I speak to you and ask you polite questions at least try to answer me in complete sentences. But for the most part my kids’ friends are smart, funny, outgoing and friendly people that I enjoy having around. (Talk to me again in a year or two when they start dating, my opinion may change.)

Maybe it is just because I am inherently lazy but I’ve relished every step toward independence my children have taken. They now are expected to be able to feed themselves if necessary, do their own laundry, and put themselves to bed at a reasonable time. If they don’t they will be hungry, dirty and tired and it won’t be my damn fault and I don’t want to hear them bitch. (I confess I have failed with the housekeeping part of their upbringing and I apologize right here publicly to all their future college roommates, hotel maids and possible live in lovers.)

Sarah has her driver’s permit and will get her license in late October or early November. Am I worried? Am I nervous? Yes, I’m crazy but not insane. I know she is a good driver as far as young first time drivers go. She’s always been very mature and responsible. But she is inexperienced. Plus there is the added factor of the other stupid drivers on the road with her. I don’t know how many times around here that I’ve almost bit it because of other idiots doing stupid things. And either by the grace of God or my own fast reactions, I’ve avoided tragedy. All I can do is hope that she will have the same luck when she takes to the road alone.

I just look at it all like this. I was given a job by the universe when I was blessed with the job of being a Mother to these two precious girls. I put everything I had into it for over 16 years now. I started when I decided to try to get pregnant in the first place. I had very severe endometriosis and getting pregnant wasn’t a walk in the park for me. (It wasn’t even a simple roll in the hay but I won’t go there.) It took us about 3 years to get pregnant both times. I breastfed, read all the right books, bought organic cotton clothes when they were hard to find, used cloth diapers, read to them all the classics and then some, homeschooled Sarah until 2nd grade, balanced lessons and structured activities with down time so they could just be kids. I even limited tv time in the early years so much so that to this day neither of them are all that into wasting time watching tv. (Just try taking away their laptops though…) I had a job to do and I’m almost done with it. My ultimate responsibility was to grow responsible young adults that can function without me. They can think for themselves and take responsibility for their actions and the consequences. I’ve also cultivated a relationship with them so that over the years we have maintained mutual respect. That is why I don’t worry about them growing up and leaving me. That is what they are supposed to do.

Hopefully I won’t have to eat my words someday when one of them moves back in with me with her 3 year old twins and meth-addicted boyfriend while the other moves to the other side of the world and won’t come home for holidays because she feels that I didn’t love her enough and always preferred the dogs over her. But a mother does the best she can and hopes for the best.

Lesson learned: I have to plan these kinds of events well in advance of the date in order to get the word out. I also need to figure out the best way to get people to act and make the call when they see something like this that may interest them.

Also Cancelled: Next week’s Summer Camp. I actually had an almost full slate of participants for this one. But two canceled this week and another never came back with their registration/deposit. That left one girl.

On a positive note; birthday party bookings are up 100% over July for August!

The most valuable seminars I took were run by Kizer & Bender. Georgann and Rich are retailing gurus of the highest caliber. What I didn’t realize going into this was that they are also neighbors. Their office is also located here in St. Charles.

The two seminars I took with them were all about appealing to “Generation Z” those wonderful creatures the rest of us call ‘tweens and teens. This just happens to also be my favorite age group of people to work with so I knew I was sure to come away with some great ideas. The Friday seminar was a panel discussion with a dozen actual in the flesh Zeds. We had the opportunity to ask them what they liked and didn’t like in crafts, stores, etc. My only complaint was that the group wasn’t very diverse as far as demographics. Fortunately for me they did match my store’s particular target market but if I had been there from a more rural or urban area I may not have gotten quite as much out of it. The Saturday seminar was more about how to take what we now know about this generation and making it work in our stores. How do we reach them? How do we offer events they’d be interested in?

These seminars were where the idea for the “Twilight Party” came from in a way. We were discussing what was hot with different age groups. I had come home Friday very excited to share with my family what I had learned and I took the opportunity to poll my two in-house Gen-Zeds. Sarah brought up how popular the Twilight series had become in her school and with her peers. On Saturday I brought this information back to Georgann & Rich and it snow-balled from there.

They were so impressed with Sarah’s suggestion they even mentioned it on their blog. So I sent them information about our planned party and they posted that too!

What I’ve also learned this summer is that opening a store and planning cool events isn’t like “Field of Dreams.” You can’t just build it and they will come. I’ve been pounding the keyboard and the pavement trying to get the word out about this event and the business in general all in the hopes that someday the crowds of mythical creatures called customers will find me. I wonder how much rent Kevin Costner had to pay on that cornfield of his?

Today she painted this wooden toy truck to look like the main character, Bella’s, old truck. We also made some polymer clay beads for our ribbon book marks. Sarah put it all together for this cool display.
 
  

Mini-me got me to read the first three books in the Twilight series sometime last year while waiting for the last Harry Potter book to come out. (The family that reads together, gets into book series theory debates together, or something like that.) Since that time they have become somewhat of a phenomenon in the world of teenage girls.

We pre-ordered our copy of the latest in the series, Breaking Dawn early in the summer and Mini-me has been waiting for the midnight release party ever since. The internet is awash in release party costume ideas and heated discussions about who will win Bella’s undying love (excuse the pun!)

We figured if the rest of the world was as or even more into this book as we were we’d might as well make a party of it! We’ve spent the past week brainstorming ideas for fun and original crafts that relate to the story and have come up with some great ones. I lucked into finding a fabulous jewelry company at CHA that has fabulous pewter pendants ready to be personalized and embellished. We’re also making red satin book thongs, bottle cap pins and decorating canvas tote bags.

If you already have plans for the midnight release join us beforehand for pizza, crafts and fun, we’ll be finished up in plenty of time for you to still make it to your local bookstore to pick up your copy well before the break of dawn!

Remember when I mentioned a couple weeks ago that she was going to repaint her bedroom? Yeah, about that. It is a hair past half-way done. This means that the second floor of our house is completely and utterly trashed. Almost all of her earthly belongings are piled either in the hallway, the guest room or the “spare” (formerly my sewing/craft) room. The laws of physics would indicate that there is no possible way that all of that crap will ever fit back into the smallest room of the house, her bedroom. It may also explain why it has been virtually impossible for her to accomplish and maintain a clean room for the past year or more. I see many trips to Goodwill in my near future.

This month we’re playing with some cool Artgirlz products and making funky paper dolls using rubber stamps, colored pencils, fabric scraps and our imaginations. (Doesn’t the one I made look just like me?!?)

Today I had a very special customer. Her name is Sierrah. She came in with her mom and two sisters. She asked if she and her little sister could color at the little table I have in the corner set up for just that purpose. She drew the fabulous artwork you see in this post. It is now hanging behind the counter. I even got her signature! So when Sierrah (with 2 r’s and an h!) is famous I can say I helped in some small way to encourage her in her art.

I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting some really cool teenage girls (who says they are all petulant and scary?) who I am really looking forward to teaching to sew. And another customer today pointed out the “eclecticness” (a new word I just made up) of having “Rage Against the Machine” playing on the radio while purchasing retro inspired fabric to make into an apron.

Yup, this is definitely “me” and exactly what I had in mind.