Short shorts and Me.

Short Shorts was 16 yesterday and she's beginning to find her own way in the world.
 The whole house was filled with excitement as her brother, sister and I got up at 6am for her birthday breakfast of pancakes, fruit and maple syrup. At least 2 of us were still asleep. All I asked  as I ferried the food back and forth from the kitchen, was that they leave me a little maple syrup.
5 minutes later, I sat down to dry pancakes and tried not to think about all  the things that she is now legally allowed to do.
Recently, we discovered that she is a talented photographer - well more than talented . Even photographers have told her she's talented.

 She took this of her sister.

So, I sold the dog and bought her a very expensive 16th birthday camera. It was second hand, but to put this in perspective, Christmas is cancelled.
I made her a cake.
Sort of.

Well, she loves those giant cupcake things but it was too expensive, so I bought a victoria sponge and balanced a lemon drizzle cake on the top. Then I piped icing in a helter skelter fashion on the top and wrapped it all up with a crepe bow.

 My daughter thinks I am a genius. I told her I'd made it, and I did.
Sort of.
She informed us that she was going bowling and then on for a meal with her friends after school.
It was to be financed by birthday money from her Gran. She did not take kindly to my reminding her that the camera that stole Christmas was only bought (after she posted the link to it on my FB page) once we had established that all birthday monies would come back to me in part-payment.
This had been conveniently forgotten and too late to cancel the birthday arrangements that had been made without my knowledge.
What could I do? Generally speaking, Short Shorts is a lovely, thoughtful girl and I didn't want to ruin her birthday but - oh dear I did feel sorry for myself :(

 I have learned my lesson -contracts need to be drawn up ahead of her brother's 16th!

So, though I started the week, feeling a bit like Mum of the Year, someone who has encouraged her daughter in her passion from an early age; a mum who lets her daughter be all she can be and makes sacrifices to do so; a mum who gets up at 6am cos her new 16 year old gets on the bus at 7.15 and above all, a mum who supports her daughter; it turns out that I can be a bit petty.
It turns out I am a mum who spends hundreds of pounds on a camera she isn't allowed to borrow, on a daughter who doesn't come home till 8.15 pm on her birthday and even then I had to fetch her.
I am a mother who sits with her 2 younger children and a fantastic birthday cake, waiting with love and excitement for a child who has already been  made a Minstrels cake by her friends at school and couldn't eat another bite.
I am a mother who looked at the 10 million excited photos taken at school, bowling and then a restaurant on the day of her daughter's sixteen birthday. I am a mother who wouldn't dream of saying 'But we were all so looking forward to your birthday tea' or of making her feel guilty.
 Is she worth it?


I reckon so. xxx