To Be Little Again

I have borrowed the following article from the April 2008 Kansas City Parent magazine. I thought it was very profound. It was written by Tisha Foley in Belton, MO. Last week before we headed to the grocery store, I asked our 3-yr old daughter to change out of pajamas and put on some play clothes. Kaelyn ran to her room and emerged a few minutes later wearing a colorful polka-dotted mini skirt, a white Planet Hollywood t-shirt that's about two sizes too small, a pink Dora the Explorer cowgirl boots, and the blue headband I use at night to hold my hair back while I wash my face. Of course I had to smile. "How do I look, Mommy?" she asked. "Perfect," I told her, and we headed off to the store, where she received many compliments from other shoppers. Other moms gave me knowing smiles. Kaelyn is not really a girly girl. She doesn't care much for pigtails or frilly dresses or kid-size jewelry. She doesn't mind getting dirty, and she'll comb her own hair, thank you very much. But she does like to dress herself, and she cares nothing about matching colors, fabrics or patterns. It's not unusual for her to go to the park wearing a turquoise shirt and pink pants, or a striped top with plaid bottoms. Most of the time her shoes match, but she's wearing them on the wrong feet. Bandaids - for looks only - may adorn her arms. She usually has a dusting of my facial powder across her nose and a shiny spot in her hair where she likes to spray her leave-in conditioner twelve times a day. She's our Little Miss Independent. And you know what? I like this about her. I like the fact that she does not care one iota what people think about her outfit. In her world, pink and orange go together and who says stripes and polka dots should not be combined? Oh, to be three years old again and feel this way. To not wonder what I'm going to wear every time I open the closet door. Or worry whether my pants are too tight or whether my shirt hangs funny. How I would like to just grab the first thing I see, throw it on, leave the house and not worry about what people think. And that's why I have absolutely no problem with taking a mismatched Kaelyn out in public. Too soon she'll be an image-obsessed adolescent - what young girl isn't? Too soon society will be telling her what to wear and how to wear it. So I'll let her independence fly now. And who knows - maybe down the road she won't succumb to the pressures that other young girls and women face. Maybe she'll always believe that stripes and polka dots go together and wear them proudly. I hope she will. Amen Sister!