I was nineteen when my mother gave birth to my little sister. Raising a child after the first two were grown and in the second half of her life, she has changed her child-rearing tactics. As a spectator and a grown offspring of hers, I watch in awe as our mother’s rules change drastically from when I was a child until now.

When I realize my nine year old sister can get away with the things I never could, I regress back to my childhood and exclaim, “Mommmm, that’s not fair!”

The fact that we share the same mom but such a different upbringing sends my mind into shock. I wasn’t allowed to look at makeup at nine, let alone own it! When I was punished for something deemed wrong, it involved a “switch” and a punishment of physical labor (raking leaves, doing dishes for a week straight, cleaning my bedroom the way Mom wanted it cleaned, etc.). Little Sister, however, is verbally reprimanded and punished from her MP3 player. Little Sister walks around shaking her little lady parts singing Lady Gaga while I was forbidden to listen to Vanilla Ice. Little Sister has a TV and DVD player of her own and I had to BEG for the cartoons on Saturday mornings.

So, why the dramatic change in raising the last one? I thought, theorized, and listed all the possible reasons that would cause such a shift in my Mom’s parenting. And I had come to a conclusion...

I have driven my Mom to insanity. Raising me drove her crazy and she has lost her mind...What other reason would there be for it?! It couldn’t possibly be trial and error. It can’t be that she has learned to be lenient with some issues that proved to not be a big deal. That would mean that Little Sister is going to have an easier time growing up then I did, and I can’t have that!

Worried over these thoughts, I decided to ask my Mother for her reasoning behind this change. Her answer: “I’ve raised two kids completely. One was easy and, of course, you were a challenge. So, the way I see it, I’m prepared for this one. Why should I stress over the little things when I now know I must maintain all my strength to tackle the larger issues later on. Oh, and by the way, you are my secret weapon. You know ALL the tricks of the trade in being a sneaky little girl.”

I guess Little Sister’s growing up won’t be so easy after all...