My daughter wants a boyfriend????

Well she IS gorgeous isn't she! I mean of course I am biased, but I would defy any guy in the future NOT to fall in love with this adorable face, that gorgeous smile, and those eyes!! Not to mention the fact that her laugh is totally infectious!!!!

But she's nine years old (okay nearly 10) and I am talking like WAAAY in the future when she's 30! LOL

I got a call from my sister in law Leanne this evening who was on MSN and chatting to Megan, and apparently Megan's MSN message next to her name was "I want a boyfriend" ... I got a phone call from Leanne right away!!! Sorry Megan but there ARE spies out there! Leanne wasn't "concerned" but obviously thought I should know!

Anyway, I went in a while later and had a chat with Megan because although I am her mum, I want her to know that I am always there for her no matter what! I try to drum into the pair of them that it doesn't matter WHAT you have done or how much trouble you think you are going to be in ... because if you come to me, or your dad, or your nan, or any other adult you trust and say to them "I have a problem - I've done something wrong and I need help" then you will never be in half as much trouble as you would be in for lying.

I had a quick chat with her about her MSN message but kept the chat very cool and aloof and didn't probe her too much. Megan is a sensible girl - I know that and I do give that girl the credit she deserves because she is a credit to me! I am so proud of the young woman (!) she is becoming.

I think part of the reason why that whole thing struck me so much is because I am now old enough to have a daughter who is thinking about boyfriends! OMG! Crikey she'd kill me if she knew I was posting this, but her whole body shape is changing and she is definitely starting to come close to puberty.

It's such a strange position to find myself in though! I am only 32, so I don't consider myself old by ANY standard, but yet I am old enough to have a daughter who is starting to think about this stuff!! God I hope we stay close I really do! I didn't talk to my mum much as I grew up. I got into trouble and dealt with it all myself through my teenage years and knowing the great relationship I have with my mum now - I couldn't imagine NOT telling her anything now!!

It's hard because you HAVE to give them a certain degree of freedom whilst still retaining that element of control. You have to trust your child and know that you have brought them up to the best of your ability and installed moral values into them... yet at the same time you worry for them so much!!

After having two miscarriages before I fell pregnant with Megan ... I thought at first that the worry would end when the baby was born ... then I realised that once you get through the birth with a healthy baby, you have to worry about cot death in the first few months - then once they start crawling and walking you worry they will crash into something ... you think it will end eventually but it doesn't! The worry doesn't EVER stop!

I know that she has to make her OWN mistakes and learn her own lessons in life, but god it's hard to watch!!! I want to be a supportive and encouraging Mum - someone that is always there for her cheering from the sidelines no matter what, but one who also knows when to back off!!

God help me when Nathan starts going through this! I wonder which one I will end up feeling more protective over ... LOL oh the joys of parenthood!