My oldest is almost 12.

It is hard for me to keep track of who is her friend, who used to be her friend, who is her frenemy, who is her enemy and who she thinks is cute.

I am at a complete loss as to how to help her.  I don't understand tween girls.

I don't like them.

They judge you by who you know, what you wear and who eats lunch with you.

I vividly remember how torturous "they" made my middle school years and I'm not ready for Oldest to have to endure this.  But I feel like my hands are completely and totally tied.

Even though these girls treat her like a tissue, she values their opinion more than mine.  If I tell her that she looks great in her new glasses, she thinks that I'm just saying that because I paid for them.  If the girl who fed her a dog biscuit last year says she like her glasses, oldest beams about it for three straight days.

Today there was bus drama.  Who sits with who and where they moved to after so-and-so got off the bus.  Who isn't talking to you, who is talking to you.  It makes your head hurt just trying to follow along.

"I have no friends," says oldest.  "No friends at all."

It hurts me to hear her say this and to not be able to fix it.