Our job as parents is to teach our children how to survive. We teach them basic things from how to eat to how to use the bathroom, but it’s also our job to prepare them for the more complex things in life (although judging from the condition of the ladies room at my job, some of us could use a refresher course in the latter).
One of the things I try to show and tell my daughter is about self-acceptance. But judging from our most recent conversation I may be failing the course myself.
“Don’t care what others say about you.”
“If you like something, what does anyone else’s opinion matter?”
“If some one has something bad to day about you, that’s their business, not yours.”
I’m just trying to save her some of the time I spent trying to fit in and be like other people.
She’s awesome and should only want to be herself. After all, we all know how I feel about being normal.
So we had a Mommy/Daughter day last weekend and went to get our nails done.
I chose some boring color and she chose every color of the rainbow. When we got home, she asked me why I didn’t get the same colors she did. I told her I didn’t because I had to go to work.
The conversation went like this.
“So what.”
“Well, Bubbies, I can’t have my nails that color at work.”
“Why not?”
“Because people will talk about me.”
“What will they say?”
“They’ll say I’m unprofessional.”
“But mom, you can’t worry about what other people say about you. Isn’t that what you told me?”
*Gasp
*Clutching imaginary pearls
She was absolutely right!
I had nothing; no witty ‘I’m and adult and this is how it is’ comeback; nothing!
While it’s true that we a have to assimilate in some way for others to “take us seriously” and present a “professional” image to be successful, these things are subjective.
I don’t know about you, but I would much rather be a successful parent than anything else.
I admit, I didn’t immediately change my nail polish because that damn manicure was expensive!
But the next time we go I’m definitely going to make some adjustments to my potential color pallet.
Hell, I might even let her choose!
You’re here on the blog, might as well stop by my Facebook page and get more of my random rambling at http://www.facebook.com/theladywrites82
Erin T. McMillon, MSM entered into the publishing industry as an advertising copywriter. She has written for numerous magazines and online media outlets in the U.S. and abroad, including an award-winning music magazine. She was most recently featured in the Summer 2014 of The Horror Zine. Erin is the author of “The Becoming of Us, Vol. I and II”. Her first collection of short horror/suspense stories, “What’s Hiding in the Dark?: 10 Tales of Urban Lore”, is due in the summer of 2014. Find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/theladywrites82 and on her blog at http://www.theladywrites82.com.
WELCOME TO THELADYWRITES82.COM 