I posted a few months ago about Dancing with the Stars and how much I loved watching it because it was a mindless escape for me at the end of a busy day.

Watching the show has a whole new meaning now because I've gotten my daughter hooked too. And she loves it more than me. We bond over discussions of dancing, fashion, music, hair and makeup. And then she sings the songs and practices the dance steps she's just seen - usually with me as her partner lifting her up, holding her outstretched leg in the air, and "flying" under my legs. (I'm sure there's a technical term for that, but I'm not Carrie Ann Inaba.)

This time with her means a lot to me for a lot of reasons, the main one of which is that it causes no conflict between us. We enjoy each other's company, share our opinions - sometimes differing, sometimes not - and don't fight about it.

Like most mothers and daughters, we have a lot of power struggles. Wardrobe, hairstyles, bedtime, food... the list goes on and on. Sometimes I think we'll be mortal enemies forever, and I'm truly scared for when she becomes a teenager and the struggles will get more intense.

So I enjoy and cherish and try to soak up as much positive time with her as I can. "Dancing" (among other things) provides that for us. I hope she also enjoys, cherishes, and soaks it up. Because she may not know what's ahead in the teenage years, but maybe when she gets there, she'll look back and realize that her mom really isn't the biggest b*#ch in the world.

Maybe the second or third biggest, but definitely not the first.