Daughters As Friends?

Ann: Don’t you love when your daughter grows up and you have those glimmers of moments when she’s more like a friend than a daughter?

Pam: I know what you mean. My “daughter as friend” moments seem to hit home most when she’s using that quick wit of hers. Once when she was about thirteen, I was noticing how much she enjoyed new hair styles, shoes, purses, and
jewelry. I commented, “You’re really a girly-girl, you know that?”---“Asks the woman with the French manicure,” she quipped back. Quick…I’m telling you, quick.

Ann: Yeah, you have to keep an eye on her alright. But it’s true. She is a girly-girl. She’s always helping you stay in style with your make-up, clothes, and jewelry isn’t she?

Pam: I do seek her advice about hair products, nail length and shape, and other girly kinds of things and she’s always very helpful. But I have to be careful….

Ann: Why do you say that?

Pam: Last month we were in the drug store picking up a few things for her to take back to school. So I stopped in the skin care aisle and I mentioned to her that I am troubled by the fact that lately I’ve noticed some darkening areas on my face. "Sweetie, help me find something to fade these age spotscoming up on my face recently”, I said to her. “Sure,” she answered enthusiastically, “let’s see….”

So I’m checking out the shelves, overwhelmed by the sheer number of products geared towards middle-aged women like us. As I ponder the moisturizers, rejuvenators, revitalizes, and “luminators” my daughter, being helpful I think, is muttering, “Age spots, age spots, something for age spots…”

Then the pharmacist appears nearby to restock the shelf and my daughter says, “That’s what we need, a scientist! I bet he can help.” She approaches the man as I follow closely behind. “Sir,” she asks loudly, “where can we find time machines?”