Can I Take the Scenic Route?

I realize that one of my responsibilities as a parent is to guide my child down a path toward maturing into a productive adult member of society. But does it have to happen so quickly? The Pie is 42 days from turning 5 and there are days, if I don't a double take, I think I'm talking to a 15-year-old. Surly attitude and all.

I believe she has now appointed herself as Royal Inquisitor to the Empress Mama because she asks questions about where I've been, what I've been doing, who I've been doing it with...you get the idea. I haven't been grilled like since I was 17 and snuck into bedroom window an hour after curfew. Man, that was a night!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have decided to cautiously try dating again. The Pie surprised me the other night with this conversation:

Pie: "Do you have a date?"
Me: "Yes, I do."
Pie: "What is a date?"
Me: "It's when Mama goes out to eat or to a movie with a new guy friend."
Pie: "Are you going to do that date?"
Me: "Yes, I am."
Pie: "What is his name?"
Me: "His name is (date's name)."
Pie: "I don't know him!"
Me: "I know you don't. I said he was a NEW friend."
Pie: "I have to meet him to see if he is OK. Get him on the phone."
Me: "AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I don't understand why she felt the need to vet my date; I have never been on a date in her lifetime, so I fail to see where she learned this behavior. Next thing you know, she'll want a credit report and a background check!

There are moments when I look at her and all the innocence of childhood shimmers behind her indigo eyes, her features soft and curvy. In a flicker, her eyes turn dark, her mouth turns to a hard line and she spits, "Whatever!"

Last week, while running errands in town, she asked what all the orange barrels were for. I explained that the roads were being repaired and all cars had to get in one lane. To which, she replied, "If we could all go in one lane, why are there so many other lanes anyway?" I admitted that I had no answer for that - I was looking for a detour somewhere on our path...