I was perusing a friend's blog today. She has four girls. She was writing about taking family photos - she had several with all the girls smiling gorgeously for the camera in the cutest coordinating (not matching) outfits. She wrote about doing crafts, making decorations for the tree, decorating gingerbread houses. She wrote about homeschooling, and how while some days are crazy, many days the girls do sit and get some work done.
It made me think about my three boys.
I started thinking about how boys don't want to sit and pose for lovely family portraits. I thought about how a craft might last two minutes, with a quick marker drawing and maybe one or two things glued on. I thought about decorating gingerbread houses and how I would probably end up doing the decorating. I thought about homeschooling and how I can't seem to find something that works, that we can stick to, that the boys really want to do. I thought about their love of sweatpants and hatred of sweaters or button-up shirts, no matter how cool and stylish they are.
Boys and girls are truly from completely different worlds.
I will admit that looking through the window at my friend's life made me yearn a little for a girl. or perhaps it is not really a girl, but just a little less chaos in my life with boys.
Sure, I love camping and sports and hiking and adventures. I'm not one to sit down and paint my toenails and shop all day for clothes or go to a boyband concert. I have also never liked pink.
Until now.
That's right. When I was small, my mother dressed me in pink all the time. I can remember thinking that pink with red hair was so ugly! As soon as I could buy my own clothes, I never wore pink again. Then, one day (I remember it distinctly) when I was 20, everything changed. It was a cold January day and I was walking in downtown Toronto by the Holt Renfrew store on Bloor Street. A woman was in the window display, setting up the new clothing line. And everything was pink! There was rose and blush and hot pink and coral and fuchsia - every shade you could imagine. I can still remember thinking "oh no! Pink is in!" Not too long after that, I purchased my very first pink top. It was just the right shade to go with my long red mane, and I loved it!
Now I actually own a few pink items - not tons, but a few. But you know what? Lately I have found myself tending more and more to the colour pink, and all things girly. My only explanation is that because I am surrounded by boys, my inner girl is craving some serious femininity, which is manifesting itself in a penchant for pink.
I know the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and when my friend is in the throes of four teenage girls, I'll be laughing. But these days, things aren't so funny.
Love the chaos-love the chaos-love the chaos-lovethechaoslovethechaoslovethechaoslovethechaoslovethechaoslovethechaoslovethechaos
Do you think if I keep repeating it, it will come true?
2 comments:
I remember feeling a ever so tiny twinge of disappointment when we found out that our second (and last) child was a boy. But then, I had a moment part way through my pregnancy while wandering through the fabric store - there was some luscious pink fabric on sale, the stuff that I always envisioned making a blanket for my baby girl out of. I got briefly sad, thinking I'd never buy it, and then realized, heck, I'm a girl! I bought 2 yards of it, made myself the fluffiest pinkest blanket you've ever seen, and Ive been buying pink things for myself ever since! I love my house full of boys, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Painting nails was fun with one...but now everytime the nail polish comes out there are three sets of toes and fingers to do in a rainbow of shades. That's 60 nails, and at least 10 bottles being opened and closed and spilled and nails being smeared and redone and changed and then of course you always have to put a glittery finish coat on each of the 60 nails. Is that 2 minute craft sounding nicer??!! And now you also know why my nails are never done. I have to do them in a closet where the light is not that great...and they can smell it anyway or see the end result and want it too!
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