Overnight

It really is true. It happens overnight. One day you wake up and your daughter doesn't talk to you like she used to. She doesn't confide in you. She has secretive phone conversations and glares at you with contempt.

Today I found out that my almost 10-year old put both mine and her father's initials on a spelling contract, indicating that she completed an oral assignment when she did not. Obviously, she knows this is wrong, why would she do it?

I'm so frustrated. My sweet little 3rd grader has turned into a ignorant, often indifferent, 4th grader. Is it because she went from oldest on the bus and in the building to youngest on the bus and in the building?

Is it just part of growing apart from us? Is it just a part of trying to be cool...to fit in?

She's been in trouble at school. She's been written up on the bus. Why didn't I see this coming? Did this really happen overnight? What am I doing wrong?

No matter how you look at it, I don't like it. Worse yet, I don't know how to stop it. I wanted to have a girls' weekend with her, to maybe take her to see High School Musical 3, now I don't think that would be the best approach to encouraging her not to forge my name on things.

UGH...why does this parenting thing have to be so hard.