Remember when these conversations were awkward? Me neither.

What do you talk about at the dinner table? Politics? Sports? The school day? Hatchling, Chicky and I have all of those conversations too, but today we added a new topic-- puberty. Obviously.

Hatchling (who, by the way, is a long ways away from puberty), suggested that boys have more to deal with during puberty than girls do. Chicky gave him a look. "I don't think so." So, we listed everything we could think of that happened during puberty, and I kept score.

                             GIRLS                                                           BOYS

                                                           growth spurt

                                                           body odor

                                                           body hair                         

                                                           oily hair

                                                           acne

                              period                                                             voice changing

                              breast growth                                                  penis growth

                              hips widen                                                       shoulders broaden

In the end, it was a tie. But Chicky and I maintain that girls have it tougher.

Celebrate!

Here's the deal Chicky and I have: When her period arrives for the first time, she and I are going to CELEBRATE!

Why, you may ask? How, you may wonder?

I'll tell you.

We'll celebrate because this is a huge transition from "girl" to "woman," and one of the very few that happen in any sort of discrete way. One day you don't have a period, the next day you do. Ta da! Big step.

Also, let's be honest: It kinda sucks. It's a chore to deal with, especially at first. It's uncomfortable. It's messy. It requires a level of responsibility and planning that is largely unprecedented in a girl's life. So, we will celebrate in order to make it Suck Less.

Now the tricky part-- how, precisely, will we celebrate this momentous occasion? She may even have the opportunity to do it twice, if she and her mom want to do something special as well. (In fact, I think that would be awesome. Live it up, after all!) We may go on a weekend trip to visit one of my girl friends, who Chicky simply adores. We may just go out to dinner and have a "girls night" at my apartment. We may make a uterus pinata ! Ok, that last one is kind of weird. But the point is that we can celebrate Any Way We Choose.

It's going to be special, damnit. And it's going to be a positive experience.