confessions of a pre-teen soon to be drama queen

Well, it has begun. Our soon-to-be 11 year old daughter is experiencing drama in her life. It started at school right after she decided to get her hair cut short. Someone told her she looked like a boy. A few weeks later, she announces to me that she now has a boyfriend. "NO KISSING!!!" was my response. Today, we went to go see Santa at the FRG potluck. We wanted a family photo with Santa for our Christmas cards. The Buckeyes are going to the National Championship this year, so we decided to wear our OSU gear for the photo. "Mom, do I HAVE to wear Ohio State stuff for the picture? Can't I look like a girl?" was the response I got from Cassidy. She was standing at my bathroom door looking very pitiful. She had tears in her eyes, an oversize OSU T-shirt, and a black skirt with red roses on. I couldn't help but give her a hug and do my best to comfort this girl who is no longer a child, but an awkward adolescent. She didn't even hug me back. We have now arrived at the point in her life where it is no longer cool to hug or kiss your parents. I know she will one day outgrow this, after all I did, but it is still hard for me to understand. I told her I would help her, that you can wear boy clothes without actually looking like a boy. She felt better and looked very pretty for the potluck. I'm glad that she still trusts me and that the drama hasn't gotten excessive...yet. I told her that kids her age can be mean sometimes and that it's hard to ignore them. I said that even though they don't have any reason to make fun of someone, they will often find something to pick on someone for. I wanted her to know that she is not alone in learning this and told her not to become one of those kids. I also reminded her that what she thinks about herself is more important than what any of those kids say to her. In my heart I know this is not the last time she will experience the hurtful words of her peers, but I pray that she will always be strong enough to overcome it and trusting enough to come to her parents whenever she needs someone to lean on. Wasn't she just a baby...yesterday? Where does the time go? Oh well, I suppose now I can understand a little better all of those weird moments in my adolescence when I caught my mother looking at me with sad, strange eyes. "What's wrong with you?" I would ask. "Nothing" was usually the response. Now I know what she was thinking. You're not a baby anymore...