"The Talk"

Sometimes I just love teaching my public school violin classes. Like when Hannah, Olivia, Brianna, and Rebecca crowded around me the moment I arrived last Wednesday and, lowering their voices, clamored woefully, "We got our puberty packets today in school!"

"I have to hide mine as soon as I get home," said Brianna. "If my dad finds out I got this, he'll want to have," and here she made quotation marks in the air with her fingers, "the talk."

"My mom wouldn't want me to know about this stuff," Olivia said, with a worried expression. "She says I'm small for my age and don't have to worry about this kind of information yet."

"It could be worse," Rebecca chimed in, "at least we don't have to watch the video until next year!"

"I've known about puberty for ages," declared Hannah with all the authority of a world-weary fifth grader. "But if my parents knew I knew, they'd freak."

While I suppressed a laugh, I couldn't help remembering myself not so very long ago hoping desperately to avoid a similar embarassing "talk" with my parents!

I told the girls that I was pretty sure their parents would be glad to answer any questions they might have, but I'm not sure they believed me. All the same, I took a bit of delight in the way they confided in me. It's nice to be a part of the lives of so many children.