I think every new mom fantasizes about things she will share with her daughter as she grows up. For me, I thought about my love of dance and cheerleading and all things girlie. As a student, I was in every club (seriously, pretty much all of them) and adored singing so much that I was in three choirs. I was crafty, and had so much fun making things with my good friend Sarah -- she taught me to sew (kind of; I was a bad student) and we made jewelry, posters, wall art, hair accessories... you name it. So, I thought I would share all of these fun things with Lauren as she grew up.
Then reality hit. She doesn't like any of this stuff. Instead, I have a daughter who's a little bit on the tough side, who loves screamo music and does NOT like anything girlie. She rarely wears skirts or dresses, is well acquainted with black eyeliner and considers it a deep shame that her mother was a cheerleader.
I had given up my hopes of sharing all this fun stuff with my daughter, and I was okay with it. And then something very interesting happened. My step daughters started quietly asking about making jewelry. And scrapbooking, And how to do a proper pirouette. Suddenly, Melody and I are spending hours with the Cricut, cutting out 4 layered squirrels for her English project. Dharma is making bracelets and necklaces for birthday presents, and keeping some for herself as well. And they are GOOD at it! I have my girlie girls after all.
So, I have the best of both worlds. I get to enjoy Lauren's ironic, dark humor. I see a little bit of myself in her love of all things ridiculous. We share a suspiciously thorough knowledge of musical theater, fashion and pop culture that makes mere mortals weep. I get to appreciate both our similarities and our differences, and love her for who she really is. And I get to share something special with Melody and Dharma as well that they don't have with their Mom. It really does always work out in the end.Labels: daughter, differences, Lezli Goodwin
