Which one's the teenager?

Michael turns 13 this Sunday. How can this be? I know all parents say, "Time flies," and I heartily agree. He felt the need to tell us that, "I'll only be here for five more years, then I'm off to college." Nice.

While Michael is becoming a full-fledged teen, Amy is hot on his heels. She’s 10 ½ and has fully entered the ‘tween stage. No need to look for any more evidence than her haircut yesterday.

Here’s how she started:


And here’s how she ended:

I couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t had a real haircut since she was five; she'd only gotten trims. She’d grown her hair out for so long! I’d encouraged her to get an inch or two taken off but not layered, or that short.

But she loves it. She said it seemed cool and “hip.” Hip. And when I dropped her off at school this morning all her friends gathered ‘round her and ohhed and ahhed over her new ‘do.

I am trying to say yes when I can, and I could say yes yesterday. Everything in my being was crying out, “NO! Don’t cut that hair!” but what I was really thinking was, “NO! Don’t grow up!”

All those nights, holding my crying babies, all I could think was, "Oh, I wish you were older!" Now all I can think is, "Oh, how did you get so old?"