Over the summer, Molly and I were browsing in Barnes & Noble when I came across The Girl's Body Book in the bargain section. Knowing puberty was around the corner, I bought the book. Molly was mortified and made me put the book in the car before getting frozen yogurt. We got home and she hid it in her room to ensure her dad and brother would not see it. 

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. 

Molly comes into the office where I am working and says, "I did it and it was scary." She now had my attention. "I read the first chapter of the body book you insisted on buying and I am scared." At this point I am kicking myself for not reading it first. How bad could the first chapter be? How detailed did it get? I quickly asked her what was scary. I got a one work answer, "puberty." Yes, it is scary. But not only for her. For me too. "Do you have any questions for me?" I asked.

"Well, it said the first part of puberty is growing. And I think it is true," she said. "I am almost as tall as you and my feet have definitely gotten bigger, which is why I needed new basketball shoes. But I really don't think my hands have gotten any bigger."

Then the questions began. "Is it true that my hair is going to get greasy?" I told her yes. Her response. "I guess I already knew that, just look at Tyler." Next question. "Am I going to get hair on places other than my head?" and finally, "How long will this puberty thing last?" I answered everything as best I could. Let me just say she is not ready to shave yet and is relieved to know that I am not going through puberty with her, that it will end before she hits her 40s. Not ready to tell her what happens in your late teens, 20s, 30s and beyond just yet. She was satisfied, so I was satisfied.

Then just the other night, she comes into my room, five minutes before her bedtime and says "42. I read the book through page 42." I was a little surprised but asked her if she wanted to talk about anything she read or if she had any questions. "Well, it says I will be getting breasts and one will be bigger than the other. When will they start growing and will I be lopsided for the rest of my life?" I had to keep myself from laughing because this is serious stuff. "Well, Molly, they have already started growing, slowly, which is why you have to wear a sports bra now. And you will not be lopsided. One may grow faster than the other, but it won't be noticeable."

"Thank goodness she said." She hugged me goodnight, knowing it was 15 minutes past her bedtime. As she was leaving, she turned to me and said, "We can wait to talk about periods."

Ready or not, here comes puberty!

Confession of the day: I need to go read a book.