I’ve hit a milestone with my daughter.  Until recently, she was only minimally attuned to the fact that a lot of the things I do to bug her stem from my being her mom.  And my job as her mom is to bug her.

Lately, however, she’s caught on to the perennial truth that moms – and in particular, her mom – can be really, really annoying.  From giving her unnecessary reminders to clean up, dress up or shut up, to pointing out unwelcome facets of her personality, to simply trying to hug her when dropping her off at the camp bus stop.

The multiple sins that I commit on a daily basis as her mother are starting to really get on her nerves.  I think that’s the official sign she’s entering the oh-so-fun stage of preadolescence.  We haven’t quite hit the point of no return, however.  Because she still looks to me for advice and love, except she looks for those things more on her terms than mine.  But I’ll be ok.  She’ll always be my little girl.  No matter how much I annoy her.