A Girl Thing and Boys Who Cook

As those of you who read my blog know, my daughter is not a girlie-girl. She likes sports and skateboarding and spends most of her time trying to keep up with her nearly 9 year old brother and his friends. The truth is, I’m not an expert on girlie stuff either. I am a fool with make-up, I can’t accessorize to save my life, and I would fail a quiz on the latest designers. But, I do like to dress up every now and then and I recently discovered, to everyone’s surprise, that my rough-and-tumble daughter does too.

We were going out for a "fancy" dinner (to a real restaurant = not fast food) and my daughter insisted that we dress up. This is a girl who needs to be bribed to wear a skirt but this day she wanted her hair "done" and her nails painted. She picked out a dress and found some lip gloss. She was surprisingly into it and the two of us had a really good time.

Now, her attire didn’t stop her from running and jumping but it did serve as a reminder to me. Nobody, including my little tomboy, is one dimensional. She is a complicated and complex creature and her influences are many and growing. I’m glad she doesn’t conform and become a princess crazed girlie-girl but it is nice to see that she can be herself and feel comfortable in her skin in a variety of ways.

Most of you also know that my lack of stereotypical girliness extends to the kitchen. I hate to cook. I think my sister, who loves to cook and bake, got almost every one of those genes. So, imagine my surprise and joy when my son offered to MAKE DINNER! Yes, my 8 year old son sent me upstairs while he and his sister tended to the family meal. Honestly, my first reaction was to say "No way! You’re too young. You can’t do it." But they really wanted to try so I let them have a go at it. I was fully prepared for a disaster and a huge mess to clean but instead was summoned to a meal of toasted ham and cheese sandwiches with a side of carrot sticks on a beautifully set table and, get ready for this, a spotless kitchen! They actually cleaned as they cooked!

Plus, they were SO proud of themselves and their dad and I were amazed. I admit, I totally underestimated them. Sometimes I forget that they are growing up and it is important to let them try. And most of the time they are far more capable than I realize. And, what a great treat! A break for Mom and Dad and two very happy kids.