GIRLY-GIRL

My daughter has never been much of a girly-girl. She is not into fashion and prefers to dress casually. This year it has been difficult getting her in a dress even for church. One Sunday she announced that she would wear a skirt to church, but not a dress. I asked, “What's the difference?” Abigail pointed to her waist and replied, “A skirt goes up to here!”

She never dries or styles her hair. As a result, I have kept it short. But this year, she declared that she was growing her hair long. I have always thought unkempt long hair on children looks “stringy”. She agreed to keep the hair groomed. Well, she was into headbands for all of two months. Most days when she leaves for school, it looks uncombed.

She is starting to have preferences in school clothes, but she still dislikes shopping. I buy a lot of her clothes on-line. She picks out the color. One morning I thought she looked quite fashionable in second-hand designer capris with a shirt and matching jacket.

I commented on how cute and coordinated she looked as she left for school. She looked at me, still in my pajamas and said “Well, you're coordinated and you used to be cute!” I laughed. She tried to dig herself out of the hole. “Your pajamas are cute and I like your socks!”

It's all right. At 52, I don't feel “too cute” either.