and I see my daughter getting ready for the world.

I think I am like all decent mothers: I want better for my children and I want to believe that I am doing my best to give them a better life. I want to spare my girls from making all of the disasterous decisions I made in my life, while allowing them to grow and become their own person. And, I want them to grow into good people. Happy, kind, compassionate little women.

So, I try, really hard to curb my vocabulary, because, truthfully, I have a mouth that would make a sailor blush at times. I have worked incredibly hard to edit my thoughts before they leave my brain and escape my mouth, because I have been known to get into some trouble for my sharp tongue and brutal honesty. I don't ever criticize the way people look in front of my children (although I would be totally lying if I said that I don't constantly think in my head, "What was that person thinking when she got dressed this morning?"). I've gone over and over, ad nauseum, the importance of being kind, of using words that invoke warm fuzzies and not cold pricklies, and of being inclusive. All in all, I feel like I am doing my job.

But, I have to tell you, that there are a lot of moms out there who aren't. They can't be. Because their little darlings are mean. Mean little girls with biting tongues who seem to thrive on being cruel to other little girls or who find happiness and power in purposely being exclusive.

I remember this behavior when I was in junior high and high school. Perhaps a bit when I was in middle school. But my oldest daughter is 6 years old. That's it. And, she is not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but she is good and she is kind and as her mother, I want to shield her from these nasty little girls. Actually, if I am being honest, I want to grab them by the arm and explain to them that they are going to grow up to be miserable human beings, void of any depth or character, if they don't cut the shit. But, that would probably fall into the category of "crazy mommy behavior" and leave my daughter as something of a pariah. So, I just sigh, shake my head in amazement and agree with my daughter when she tells me about a "mean" little girl.

I see the wheels turning in my daughter's head when one of these episode's occurs. She is wondering why the other girls act this way. She is wondering why they are so mean. She wonders if she did something wrong. I see the wheels turning and I hope that somewhere, in that cute little head of hers, she categorizing the behavior as ugly and that she will remember to never treat someone in that way.

As I try and navigate my way through the beginning of my daughter's school career, I can't help but think that it is too early for her to be experiencing this and wondering if it is happening everywhere. I can't imagine it is exclusive to where we live. If it is happening everywhere, what is the reason? Why are little girls being so mean, so early on? They are too little to be so snarky and jaded...and if they are this nasty now, what is going to happen by junior high?