One Day She'll Think I'm a Moron; How Can I Be the Moron She TRUSTS?

**Disclaimer: If you are not a current or future mother, you may not care to invest the next minute or two of your time in reading this. I will not be held responsible for the fact that you cannot get that time back!**

I know that my daughter is only seven. The teenage years (which I think that I have dreaded since I found out that I would be having a girl) are imminent. But if anyone could advise me on how to keep our relationship the way it is now, at least its most important aspects, I would owe you my first-born (because let’s face it, he’s turning thirteen soon, and even though he’s still more lovable than not, YIKES)!

Last night we were sitting snuggled on the couch, winding-down our “mommy-daughter-date” for the night. Bedtime was fast-approaching, and Brooke asks me, “Mommy, for tomorrow’s date, could I tell you all of my secrets?” Naturally, this induces a mixed bag of feelings, primarily those of delight and terror. I did not want to wait another twenty four hours before popping open this can of worms! Doing my best to sound completely nonchalant, I respond, “Absolutely, you know you can tell me anything, anytime!”

With that, she busts-out her teeny tiny diary, unlocks it, and commences to read me each and every page! Obviously, I won’t be sharing the details (“Thanks for sharing all of your secrets with me, Brooke, wait here while I plaster your private thoughts and feelings all over social media!”), but suffice it to say that there was absolutely nothing earth-shattering. It was all adorable, innocent, and entirely age-appropriate stuff, complete with illustrations.

Despite this, I was choking back those ridiculous mom-tears. Not out of relief, though I WAS reassured. But because here you have this tiny, innocent little person, and despite all of my shortcomings, she trusts me so fully, so completely, that here she sits, sharing with me what she considers to be her most valued and deeply personal information. Then she asks me to take the diary and its key, and keep it in a safe place for her.

Help me out here, fellow moms! How do I keep this element of our relationship alive and well? As much as I try to simply enjoy it while it’s here, I can’t seem to stop worrying about losing it!! Inevitably, she’s going to one day believe that I’m a moron, and I’ve accepted that much. I just always want to be the idiot that she trusts and knows she can confide in. . . .

And while you are all in advice-mode, HOW do I get her hair to lay the heck down in the morning? Unrelated, I am aware, but I am a life-long tomboy, she is a girly-girl, and it is important to her! I’m listening!!!