There should be brochures on parenting in the labor and delivery wing of every hospital. Because if there were, I would have picked them up. Sadly, there were none. Something should prepare you for the wrath of a 13 year old daughter scorned. My once honest, and forthright littld girl is now 13, and has morphed into a young lady who delights in testing the limits. I know, it's her job. However, it is our job as parents to set those limits. Last week it was sneaking "on line" when she was not permitted to, thinking she wouldn't get caught. A little "smoke and mirrors" ( so as not to arouse suspicion of computer parental controls)...and we got her to 'fess up. This past week, it was the dawning of the thong that got our undies in a bunch. Call it mother's intuition, but I knew the minute I saw her face on that early school morning, she was thonging. How did she expect to get those through the laundry without us noticing? She said she has been "thinking in the moment" lately, and not thinking of the consequences of her actions. At 13, she should at the very least have some forward thinking capabilities. Suffice it to say, her lack of forward thinking landed her in our laps for the forseeable future as trust has now become an issue. Looking at the bright side, we don't have to worry about where she is all the time when she's grounded. As for the thongs, they met their demise at the hands of my husband who took pair of pinking shears to them. I suggested hanging them on the Christmas tree come December. The pinking shears won out. I shared this story with a friend who is the mother of nine children, six of whom are daughters. While they are older, she too, remembered the time she came across thongs in the laundry. Her response? "It's about time. You've been up my butt for the last 17 years, it's time something was up your butt." Touche.