Every so often, my childrens' own adventures conjure up memories of my childhood. Yesterday, my daughter came skipping out of school with new red ribbons in her hair. She was such a sight with her hair band, red ribbons, and that red coat of hers.
I asked her about the origins of those red ribbons and she described her friend combing out her hair and tying those red ribbons into it. Immediately, memories of my own ten-year old self came rushing back-----the touch of girlhood friends combing and styling my hair and the laughter of pre-teen girls... Ah, childhood.
As I asked my daughter about the ribbons and her dance class with her friends, she held a secretive smile-----not a suspicious smile but rather the kind of smile that young girls wear when thinking about their near and dear friends and their own lives at school and beyond----apart from parents... It's that transitional stage between home and independence. It began long ago but the speed seems to be accelerating...
