But listen: I was vying with five siblings and an entire high school of my dad's students for attention. At 11, and as a middle child, there was always someone younger than me needing a diaper change and someone older than me needing acne medication. I needed to stand out somehow.
For the most part, I did this by scoring in the 98th percentile on standardized tests and by misbehaving my way into Family and Child Services counseling with "Bonnie." There, I read "TA for TOTS," and learned that some off-balance children are forced to call themselves "prinzes" and "frozzies" and that Canadian illustrators are creepy.
For the sake of brevity, let''s say that those early interventions took care of my behavioral issues.Now it's my turn to witness the 11-year-old girl of the next generation. I just got back from vacation with my sister and her kids. The oldest, a girl, is 11. She's a lot like me. She's smart, she's cute, she has a big ole gap between her front teeth, and she knows everything.
The thing is, even when you know where it's coming from, it doesn't make it any less annoying.
