Kathleen turned twelve this week. Incidentally, William turned 18 months this week. So if we had been in the US, this Sunday I would have my oldest going to her first week of Young Women's and my youngest going to his first week of nursery. But as we are in Uzbekistan, my oldest came to the adult's class and so did my youngest.
It's strange to have my oldest be twelve, that great dividing line (at least in Mormon culture) between a child and a young woman. Over the past year I've seen that transition happening, which has been a little surprising. I know logically that eventually all my children will become adults, but it's very strange to see that transition begin for the first time. I'm sure that this will all be very natural when William turns twelve, but it's a bit of an adjustment to have a daughter who is four inches shorter and half a shoe size smaller than me. I'm sure it will be even more fun when she is taller than me, which is an inevitability.
It has been really great to see her mature and grow into her new role as a young woman. A year ago, she would run off to hide if she knew we were going to clean up the kitchen after dinner. Now she stays around and asks for more work when her assigned tasks are done - not because she likes cleaning up, but because she knows it is the right thing to do. She has become a very responsible babysitter and has started teaching Joseph his history and science lessons - and is actually enjoying it (something I have yet to achieve). I've enjoyed beginning to see her as a helper in raising the children instead of a child to be raised.
We celebrated her birthday yesterday. We started the day with Kathleen's choice for breakfast - cinnamon rolls. After a few chores, including baking a chocolate birthday cake, we swam (yes, the pool is still maintaining its charm).