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December 2, 2012

Wondering where the time went

The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — It’s not odd for me to come home at any given time and find something on my front porch. Mostly it’s a new phone book or a flyer for the latest restaurant in town. A couple of times I have come home to find that yet again the wayward neighborhood pet has found his way to my door. It’s seems as if I have an invisible sign outside the house that reads “Sucker lives here.” Any time an animal shows up a my door, either friend or foe, I take it in, feed it and find its respectable home.

On Thursday I came home to a package that I had ordered for Christmas. Even though I knew exactly what was inside the odd, thick not-quite-an-envelope but not-quite-a-bag package that the retailer shipped my purchase in, I couldn’t wait to get it open. I had ordered a pair of skull and crossbones lounge pants for my niece. Last year, I ordered her a teddy bear. But things happen between the ages of 11 and 12 that make little girls grow up. They no longer want you to call them little girls and they turn their pre-teen noses up to cute and cuddly. Instead, these girls, or young ladies as I’ve been told to call them, want serious and scary. Also in the package was a sweater that would probably fit me. Talk about serious and scary.

I’ve not seen my niece since this summer, but then she had grown to bejust a few inches shorter than me. For those who haven’t met me, on a good day I hover slightly under six feet tall. Something you don’t expect is that little girl you held as a baby to grow up so fast. Just yesterday I was tickling her until she couldn’t stand it. Now I want to borrow her clothes.

Her parents have held a cap on most of the drama associated with a teen’s life. However, I don’t think there is help for the sorry old aunt who wants nothing more than to call her niece a little girl and buy her another teddy bear.

Shana Adkisson366-3554sadkisson@normantranscript.com

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