Life with a tween.

Day #1: So far, so good. She's really adorable and pretty mature for her age, she seems so much older than 12. And she couldn't be more thrilled to be spending the week with us. She told me she was just happy that we even asked her to come, that we liked her so much that we want to spend time with her. That made my heart smile. What a sweetie. Here's what I've learned so far:

• Hannah Montana is for 4 or 5 year olds. Certainly NOT for 12 year olds.
• 12-year-olds love to read. And they like big, thick books. Even non-Harry Potter books.
• Cell phones must have a texting plan.
• Even tweens love shoes and shoe shopping.
• Tweens are more "developed" than 30 year-olds nowadays. (Which doesn't take much, let's be clear. But, boy, what a depressing realization. Most of my week will be spent stuffing to make sure everyone knows I'm the adult.)
• 12-year-olds really are aware of what's going on. They aren't stupid.
• They also don't mind being told to 'shut up'. We didn't tell her to shut up, of course, but she said we could if we thought she was talking too much. (What a different world this would be if only that offer applied to everyone.)

I think I will totally learn more from her than she will from me.