My daughter is a girly girl. Somehow, I gave birth to this child who loves all things pink, purple, pretty and princess – even though I’m just about as UNgirly as a woman can be.
I don’t paint my nails.
I don’t use product in my hair.
I don’t wear lace or ruffles or pastels.
I don’t giggle. Or scream.
I never owned a Barbie doll.
And I don’t sew.
Okay, maybe sewing (or not) has nothing to do with femininity. And I realize that those other points are stereotypical. But I’m really not into all those typical girly things. (Except romance novels. And chocolate. And goodness knows, I cry all the stinking time. But other than that . . .)
So to have this child who, despite my best efforts to ignore the World of Pink, is determined to be as twirly and sparkly as possible? It really boggles my mind.
To be honest, though, I kind of love it. Loving pink and glitter and tiaras and baby dolls is fun. And even if it doesn’t come naturally, I sort of like being silly and fun and carefree with my little girl.
It’s not like we only play princess games at our house, though. (In case you’re getting concerned or wondering who I am and what I did with the Mary you know.) As much as she loved the Strawberry Shortcake dolls and twirly, sparkly dress she got for Christmas, Annalyn loves – and plays with – her new tool kit and firefighter costume just as much.
Learning to love pink and everything that includes has actually helped me lighten up a bit. [Shut up. I said “a bit”!] For most of my life, I’ve equated serious with mature, reserved with responsible. But it’s possible, I’m learning, that letting loose and having fun doesn’t mean I’m frivolous or shallow. And you know what I think? A little glitter never hurt anyone.
And if my pretty pink princess girly girl thinks that a bra is called “broccoli” and hair gel is called “Jell-O,” well, that’s not all that bad, either. [For now.]
Are you a girly girl? Do you have any kids who are really different than you? How do you feel about glitter?
Embrace the pink, sparkles and the twirly dresses! I too have a girly-girl and she’s about to turn 10. Pink and red are her favorite colors. I asked her why one time and she responded, “because they’re the colors of happiness and love”. I try to be a girly-girl but I fall short most of the time but, have loved to live in her world of tea parties and doll houses. To be honest, it’s a nice break sometimes and it makes me feel good that she hasn’t been jaded yet by the ugliness of the world.
The colors of happiness and love. Well, you can’t argue with that, can you?! :)
You are too a girly girl. How else do you explain your fascination with silly teeny-bopper movies? :) Girly girls come in all shapes and forms. :) Besides, it’s much more interesting to be a girly girl in some ways and not a girly girl in other ways (just like Annalyn and her firefighter costume and my niece and her Spiderman pajamas:).
My mom was very disappointed in me growing up because I wasn’t such a girly girl (again, in some ways — I was girly when it came to being pouty and not outdoorsy, for instance;). I didn’t want to wear all the cute dresses and frilly tights that she wanted me to wear (you know, the ones with ruffles on the bum, sigh). And I still feel kind of uncomfortable in “girly girl” clothes now (e.g. dresses, skirts), even though I also feel pretty in them.
True. We are SO interesting. :)
Same here! With my 3 year sparkly girlie girl I have learned to embrace my inner drama queen. I find I like watching “strawberry” and “the ponies”. I have even gotten so far as buying a *gasp* hot pink sweater! Coming to terms with tea parties and baby dolls. Love it when she wants to play swords though.
Finding that being enlightened by a 3 year old is “lighting me up”! Enjoy yours!
Ahhhh yes, we have LOTS of tea parties in our house. Of course, yesterday, she had her little princess dolls lined up on the bookshelf and they were taking turns “busting” each other’s heads. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. !!! But clearly she’s not ALL girly girl!
What a cutie! And your post about her reminds me so much of things my mom used to say. She was not much of a girly girl and somehow ended up with a daughter who loved dress and really, really wanted a pink room with frilly curtains.
Oh my. Frilly curtains. Now THAT might put me over the edge. Haha! :)
I was definitely a “tom boy” growing up (but I did own some Barbies…I needed them to date my NKOTB dolls). Now, I’m married to a Tom, but I digress. Something kicked in in my early twenties though when pink became a trendy color and was everywhere and unfortunately/fortunately looks good with my skin tone. So, I’ve become more girly. Now, I put my kid in pink all the time because…well, I can. I did have a strong aversion to purple while pregnant, so she is only beginning now to get some purple clothing. It is definitely fun to dress her in super cute, stereotypically girl stuff. I still secretly hope that she loves to play soccer when she gets older. And, I can’t stand glitter. I’ve got to draw the line somewhere :)
An aversion to purple? That’s one interesting pregnancy issue! I know what you mean about the skin tone thing. Back when I still really didn’t like pink, I wore a peachy pink dress to church and my Granny went bonkers over how good I looked in it. That’s when I first started thinking pink wasn’t so bad! :)