Wilbur and no car

Yesterday I had lunch with my daughter, Lori, and her daughter, 12 year old Jordan.

Jordan wore royal purple pants, an olive drab tee, layered by a white blouse and black and white shoes. Her glasses are black Soho with rhinestones and her long blond hair was held back with blizzard blue barrettes. She is a fashion plate, my young granddaughter.

She ordered a bacon burger with no bacon.

"Please put the bacon on the side," her mother said. "I will eat it."

"Mom, how could you? That's like eating Wilbur!" Jordan eats any other kind of meat but eating Wilbur is abhorrent to her sensibility.
The three of us chatted for a while, mostly about my birthday, and then I asked Jordan what was new and exciting in her life.

"Not much," she said.

"New crush?"

She gave me a sideways look and I deduced that was a non subject. You never know what is off limits with a 12 year old. It changes like the wind.

I never ask that most hated of all questions, "How is school?' So I waited.

She gave her mother the bacon and picked the tomato off her hamburger. God forbid she should eat a tomato.

"You know," she said, peering under the bun for other offensive veggies, "I have been feeling pretty independent lately."

I was afraid to look at her mother. A smile was not an option and I was afraid I would slip.

"How so?" I asked, hoping I sounded casual.

"Well you know, when you are in middle school you have to make your own decisions, like which way to go to get to class and how many people you can talk to without being late and if you're willing to risk being late to talk to someone special. You know, it's not like when you're a kid and they make you line up and go everywhere together. I mean in middle school , you're really out there on your own."

I nodded. "Middle school is very different," I agreed.

"Sure is. Kinda like being an adult except you don't have a car."

Imagine that. Being in middle school is like being an adult without a car.
"How is everything?" asked the waitress.

I smiled at her, happy to have someplace to put my big grin.

"Wonderful," I said. "It's just wonderful."