Embracing My Girlie-Ness

I've never really considered myself to be a "girlie-girl". It's just not my style, never has been. Now, I was never much of a "tomboy" type either, I'd say that I fall somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. On the one hand, I like wearing make-up, and do pretty much every day, whether I'm home alone, or out into the world, but I don't mind digging in the garden without my gloves and getting dirty, either. I enjoy dressing up and looking pretty but am just as at home in sweatpants and a dirty tee shirt. I'm really not a fan of the colour pink. Never have been.

Having Emma for a daughter has been quite the eye-opening experience for me. That kid is totally "girlie". She loves all things pink. She loves Disney Princesses (much to my disgust). She gravitates toward clothing and jewelery. I remember before she was born, being determined to put her in as little pink as possible. HA! If you haven't already, check out my "never say never" post. This is another great example of why one should never say 'never'. There are a couple of problems with not dressing your baby girl in pink. 1)Almost all little girl's clothes ARE some variation of the colour pink 2) If you don't dress your girl in pink (and sometimes even when you DO) people assume that your bald child is a boy, which can concern a young mother that it's going to cause the child to develop a complex and 3) sometimes your daughter actually looks GOOD in pink.

It was obvious to me from a very young age that Miss Emma was indeed the "girlie-girl" type. She just gave off the vibe, despite how much I tried to ignore it in the beginning. Hey, I'm just her mother, I'm only here to help her through this life, while allowing her to be the person that she is. So even when I was still completely in control of what she was wearing (because make no mistake, at 5, I'm decidedly NOT in control of that anymore) I put the kid in pink. Guess what? She looked cute. It suited her. These days, sometimes that girl dresses entirely in pink, from the skin on out. Hey, she knows what she likes. That's usually a good thing, except when I find myself going toe-to-toe with her over why that filmy summer dress isn't a good choice for leaving the house in January. Even I have my fashion limits.

Over the years, thanks to having Emma as a daughter, I have learned to embrace my girlie-ness. I no longer cringe at the colour pink, and can certainly appreciate it on other people, though it's not something that I choose to wear myself.

Now, I never thought that I'd find myself dressing in it, but on Thursday, while second-hand clothes shopping, I found a sweet little black top with...guess what? PINK embroidery on it......



I actually surprised myself with this little number. Sure, it's still mostly black, but even the pink embroidery is still more pink than I've ever ventured to wear in the past. It was surprising that I even dared throw it into my basket, let alone that I actually, after some deliberation, decided to buy it. Hell, what's $2.50, right?

When I stop to think of it, I'm a bit more of a "girlie-girl" than I thought. Not the point where I worry so much about my hair looks that I won't go out on a rainy day, or do whatever I can to preserve my nails, but I do like looking nice and enjoy pretty things. I guess it all comes down to balance.

I'm realizing, more and more, that never saying never is a good thing. Keeping one's mind open when it comes to all things - from parenting to fashion choices, is always a good idea. 'Cuz you just never know when you're going to find yourself in a (somewhat)pink shirt...