Thank heaven for little girls
for little girls get bigger every day!

Thank heaven for little girls
they grow up in the most delightful way!

Those little eyes so helpless and appealing
one day will flash and send you crashin’ thru the ceilin’

Thank heaven for little girls
thank heaven for them all,
no matter where no matter who
for without them, what would little boys do?

Thank heaven… thank heaven…
Thank heaven for little girls!

I am about to venture into new territory – Tween Girls!!!!

Being raised in a family of mostly males, having a girl is a bit terrifying. With boys, I can rough house and tease and have bodily outbursts without someone turning up their nose at me. (not that I try to on that last one, but those with boys know that flatulence is something to laugh at, not get grossed out over.)

With boys, I can rough house and tease and have bodily outbursts without someone turning up their nose at me.

(not that I try to on that last one, but those with boys know that flatulence is something to laugh at, not get grossed out over.) They can sit near you without having to touch you or hold your hand. They honor your personal space (sometimes) and do not show outward need to have you around but you know that they like having you nearby. Mine are a great help when my husband isn’t around and the fact that, at 13 1/2 and 12, they still hug me is just heart melting.

Then, there is my 9-year-old, blossoming daughter.

She is emotional and moody and clingy beyond what I can handle sometimes. I love her dearly and could not imagine not having her here, but there are times that I want to hide.

The day I discovered that my third and last child was a girl, I knew that she would be God’s way to teach me to be tender, more affectionate, and more feminine. Before my daughter, I walked “manish”, according to a stage director, and I wore pants and ultra comfy close all the time. But as soon as she was born, I knew that of all my children, she would be the one that I would have the most influence over. I had to make a conscious decision to find my softer side, my womanly side and become the woman God intended me to be.

I am not saying skirts became my main attire, but they show up a bit more than before. I do my hair a bit more than I would like and I wear make-up more often than not. I have learned that it is okay to show emotion and it is okay to be a girl. I stopped hiding my shape in baggy clothes and, here is the clincher, I have learned to not be so harsh. Especially with my husband. 

I have spent the last nine years going through these changes, and I am glad I did. My daughter is the most tender-hearted, sensitive young lady I know and if the old Melissa was still around, she would crush my girl. Her temperament has not changed at all since she was born. Dainty, girly, pink loving, tutu wearing little girl. A little girl who has a love for the Lord that not I or any Sunday School teacher could ever teach her. These are things that have been born into her and I find myself praying that she never loses this part of her.

She is inquisitive and quickly applies every discussion we have to memory. (wish I could still do that) She loves animals, dance, and all her girl friends mean the world to her. They are her “Sisters”. We have had to have some very serious talks about things she notices through observation and we have a great time shopping. Now that she is beginning to have all those tween girl physical changes, our talks come more often as the months pass.

When many nine-year-old girls are thinking about boys and developing tween girl sass by behaving like little adults, mine still plays with her Barbies and American Girl dolls. loves to color and draw, and lives to dance. She is still a child and I am glad she is still confident in who she is to say, “I want to be a young girl for as long as I can.” (I told her that it was okay like my mom told me.)

She blesses my heart and teaches me so much about myself. She has been so awesome that I had to put her and her friends in my next novel.

The boys have taken over the first three books so it is only fitting that this next book is about a mother and daughter. I can’t wait to share the story of a dance studio instructor and the return of her first love. I have two very mischevious little girls to bring these two reluctant friends together. I think they see something that their parent/guardians are not seeing. 🙂