“The teacher said that she didn’t want us to be like last year’s seventh graders and use the condoms to make water balloons.”
My daughter, who, yes, is now in seventh grade, had a lot to report to me about her new health class on the way to school today. I nodded and commiserated while Elena described how “awkward” the class was. But inside I couldn’t have been more thankful.
The facts on the ground may be changing as I write, but, lately at least, my daughter seems to be is in this stage where, for all her technical knowledge, she’s still kind of naïve, or unfamiliar, with the some of adolescence’s more seriously awkward complications. It’s like she’s just starting to play at being a teen, and is even enthused about it. And from my perspective, it’s quite a wonderful moment, actually. She talks to me. She’s doesn’t seem overly put off by the world. She relishes her time with her friends.
So on the way to school today, she described in giddy detail how the teacher pointed out the condom box in the front of the room and the tampon box in the back, and how the teacher was very passionate about how important it was to understand your body. I think Elena used the phrase, “and we were just cracking up,” five times.
I’m glad it all still seems so funny, I wanted to say, enjoy it while it lasts.
I know I am.
–Eric Messinger
Editor
