Three Tweets Third Thursday I

My little Carissa is what southerners call a "Miss Priss". She is all girl. She loves shoes, dressing up, bows in her hair, and wearing dresses.

I never understood the whole girly-girl thing when Jenna was younger. All the little girls her age were into Disney princesses, but Jenna didn't care much for dolls and her favorite color was blue, not pink. When all her friends wanted to dress up as princesses, she would follow along, then come to me later and say she didn't really want to play. She stood around in her gown looking awkward and humiliated.

When Jenna started attending preschool, all the little girls in her class were into anything princess or fairy, so I guess as an effort to fit in, she kind of started to like more "girly" things. One day she came home from preschool and announced she now had two favorite colors, blue and pink. I told her that having two favorite colors was kind of like breaking some unspoken rule about favorites and that maybe pink could be her second favorite. She didn't like the idea. She now has a pink room. 

It broke my heart that even at four years old, her choices could be impacted by what somebody else thought was cool. I liked that she was different. I've tried to go into long spiels about being herself and being the way God created her to be, to no avail. 

As a mother, it hurts when you know your child is being influenced by other kids, and that she may not be mature enough to do what she thinks is good and right. Although I'm sure those sweet little girls didn't mean to make her feel inferior, they did. It hurts enough as a parent that you could go to the preschool, gently grab the child by the arm who is making her feel that way, and then let her know how you really feel about their little princess obsession. Not that I've really thought about doing this or anything.   

Anyway, when Carissa began to grow into a toddler, I noticed she naturally gravitated toward "girly" things. I think God was trying to teach me not to be so hostile to pink and princesses and preschoolers. I still don't like princesses because there's always a prince charming, whom doesn't exist in real life. I know because I used to be one of those girls who grew up with the expectation that every man she dated should be like prince charming. I was devastated to find out the hard way that most men like to act like prince charming until they either get you in bed or marry you.   

At any rate, I don't usually allow my girls to watch princess movies because the villains frighten them. Jenna watched Snow White when she was three and then was up half the night scared and arguing with me about whether the Old Peddler Woman existed or not.

Princesses aren't supposed to fight. "That's my tiara...Don't touch my dress!"

  
Nevertheless, Carissa has begun to learn the names of the Disney princesses. She doesn't quite get them exactly right, though, and here are a few of her interpretations:

1. Snow White = Snow Wipe

2. Ariel (The Little Mermaid) = Area

3. Sleeping Beauty = Stinking Booty

I don't think I'll correct her and I laugh to myself at the thought of putting them together.

Gotta go now....

I'm going to Snow Wipe the Area of my Stinking Booty.