Milestones

My niece recently had a baby, and it got me thinking about milestones in parenting.  How, when you have a new baby, there are books the size of dictionaries brimming with these miraculous achievements for their first year or two.  We have first rolls, bites of food, words and steps.  It all builds up to that all-important first day of "school", then what?  It's not like parenting stops there.  Potty parties and learning to write their name is just the beginning.  There are so many other milestones that parents have to look forward to before the big D word, like.......
First organized sport on a competitive team.   Sure sports are for fun, and yes the parents keep score even when certain leagues don't...but the first time the "officials" keep score, winning and losing become a factor.  The kids know it.  The parents know it.  And if you're kid feels like he/she is the weakest link (whether or not that's true) you could be heading for...
First time they want to quit something you've paid for in advance.  Should you let your kid quit baseball after the third game, because well, he hates it?  I rented this tuba for a year, and you want to quit band because it's boring?  Change instruments because it's too heavy?  Talk about the great parenting mine field, where wherever you step someone is going to blow.  It's almost as bad as the family bed(room) issue.
First time your kid makes a friend where you haven't bonded with the parents.  Absolutely nerve wracking.  Your precious baby always has been friends with your friends kids, and now they bring in an alien.  Don't worry mom.  You probably just picked up a friend too!  This alien will almost always have a similar values system to your own...THAT milestone comes at a later date.  
First standardized test scores.  Relax, your child's 3rd grade MAP test isn't for college admission.  Beware of this milestone with siblings.  I just fell into that trap, going, ack only x%....then my husband reminded me it was a percentile, and the kid is still well above average.
First time they want their own phone.  Yes this is separate from when they actually get their own phone...because well, we like screening their calls, and it takes a while for a mom to work through the emotions behind this and separate want from need...and then convince the kid to wait a couple more years.  The idea of giving them that much freedom and privacy is absolutely terrifying....but then again, it's nice to have your own phone back too.
First time they need deodorant.   I've only been here with a boy, so shaving is still a bit ahead of us, and thank goodness I have a while before the girls need bras and um, supplies., but the bottom line is, this is the "into to adolescent worries and attitudes" milestone.  From here on out you will have adolescent worries intermingled with playing with hot wheels and legos.  Your kid doesn't really know which world they fit in, and quite frankly, you don't either.
First day of middle school, or week..or month    Yeah, this whole two years is going to need a post of it's own, later, once we've survived.