Before actually raising a Little One, I’d thought a lot about parents raising girls and, with that, princess culture and pink and purple and tea parties and make up and accessories and, essentially, how – if I were so lucky to have a girl of my own – I would steer clear of these traps. But then I got pregnant and, while I won’t say all of those concerns went out the window, they sure seemed a hell of a lot less important to me than making sure I had a kid who was healthy and happy. And then actually knowing and understanding that I was going to be a parent – the idea that I was going to be trusted to raise a PERSON – suddenly made it seem infinitesimally insignificant whether or not this little child thought being a princess was cool. In fact, I had to admit, that when she came out and started blabbering about it, she was right: being a princess is sorta cool. And I know what being a princess means and my daughter doesn’t.
Anyway, so I have a little girl who now asks to wear nail polish and bracelets and even earrings (and that last one is a no for now) and I largely give in because I can’t really think of a reason to say no. I see all of it as her genuinely exploring color and textures and her own taste. Here’s the thing: I can talk till I’m blue in the face that “looks don’t matter” but Molly, like me, cares what things look like. Other people may not share our taste – God knows my mom doesn’t often like my home choices – but we make our picks because we do care about how things look. And we can’t change that. And I don’t think we should have to, or be encouraged to. Even commoners have their tastes.
life and puppies 