OMG! You are a good person for gently preparing. I was the 3rd daughter in my house and NONE of us had any preparation. I still think my older sisters could have given me a heads up there since mom failed. The current generation gets much more information, and this is a good thing. Also, oh my, that is a milestone.

Cindy, I'm going to merely say, "Hey, cool," on account of my own mom got all excited when I hit the same milestone and bought me a commemorative plate (er, not that there's an official Franklin Mint line of commemorative flatware for this occasion; it just had a pretty picture of a cat that she thought I'd like--nevertheless, desperately humiliating).

So, merely, Hey, cool.

I just saw the moment where Beyonce invited Taylor Swift onstage. It wasn't just that she gave Taylor the time, it was the way that she tied it to her own experience about being excited for her first nomination. I especially love the sort of older statesman smile and nod that she gave Taylor. CLASS ACT, I will never say another bad thing about her (her clothes are still fair game though)

Boy milestones are more voice changing, mood changing, and becoming even more odoriferous. But they also get real strong and help mom lift heavy stuff, so it's all good. They didn't feel they needed to share all the hair growth, but they did start shaving the face part.

First time I hit that milestone was at summer camp. I didn't tell my mom then, because I knew that she'd be disappointed to not be able to hug me and talk to me after the first time, so when it happened again the next month, when I was home from camp, I pretended it was the first time. And she hugged me and talked to me and it was incredibly awkward. (Especially because that time, it was while we were at an amusement park, and I was in a public restroom, and she had to send my dad to go find a souvenir shop and buy me a clean pair of shorts, and I had to just hang around in the restroom waiting.)

Cindy!

!

I am filled with womanly camaraderie.

Growing up!

I had to get supplies from my in-many-years-to-be sister-in-law. It was later than many people, so I was rather eh. And I don't think I've ever told her that. (I think I feared the commemorative kitten plate.) It did explain the tummy cramps the previous day though.

Mostly I was just waiting for some boobs. Like Godot.

Cindy, OMG!

Yes amych and Hil, plus MEEP!

(I'm waiting for the same milestone. ACK)

Barb, if she's well prepared, it should go okay. She was so sanguine (that's probably the wrong word to choose, given the Buffista propensity for word-nerdism) that it threw me off, a little. I was well prepared for my own, and yet? I cried. Not my girl, though. She's a cool customer.

Wow, Cindy! That's way more cool than Emmett eager to show me his new Man Hair Down There.

Hee. Ah, see, that came up for discussion when our oldest male type had that cancer scare (that turned out to be absolutely nothing) so the moment itself was almost an afterthought.

OMG! You are a good person for gently preparing. I was the 3rd daughter in my house and NONE of us had any preparation. I still think my older sisters could have given me a heads up there since mom failed. The current generation gets much more information, and this is a good thing. Also, oh my, that is a milestone.

Oh, Laura. Awful. My aunt was only 11 and my grandmother (who was way cool about all things physical and/or female) just wasn't expecting it and hadn't prepared her. Poor little think thought she had internal bleeding. Thankfully, my 4-years-younger mother was a little rat fink and told.

Cindy, I'm going to merely say, "Hey, cool," on account of my own mom got all excited when I hit the same milestone and bought me a commemorative plate (er, not that there's an official Franklin Mint line of commemorative flatware for this occasion; it just had a pretty picture of a cat that she thought I'd like--nevertheless, desperately humiliating).

So, merely, Hey, cool.

Heh, JZ. Your mom is too adorable. Now I want a commemorative plate, but I was thinking Judy Blume's Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret would probably be the best bet.

First time I hit that milestone was at summer camp. I didn't tell my mom then, because I knew that she'd be disappointed to not be able to hug me and talk to me after the first time, so when it happened again the next month, when I was home from camp, I pretended it was the first time. And she hugged me and talked to me and it was incredibly awkward.

You are a prize daughter, Hil. Does your mom know the whole story, now?

I am filled with womanly camaraderie.

Right? -t, I tried very hard to make this a GOOD thing. I'll check in with her in 20 years and see if it worked.

eta...

Oh, Cass. See, the boobs have been here for a while (certainly in comparison to her peers), so I had fair warning. And yet? I'm still thinking it's always sudden.

You are a prize daughter, Hil. Does your mom know the whole story, now?

Nope.

I was at school, eighth grade. All of the teachers were very blase about it, bunch of 12 and 13 year old girls, it probably happened once a month (heh, no joke intended). In fact, one of the male teachers made a point of saying "ladies, if you tell me that you need to go to the nurse, I will write you a pass with no questions asked"

My mother was a little bit psycho about keeping it secret. I had to hide my tampons and whatnot in my room and taking it to the bathroom was like doing a dead drop with nuclear submarine plans.

which of course, led to the famous "napkin" story.