dress up

      There's a stage in a little girl's life when she loves to play dress up. Not only is she dressed up at all times, but she also does so without batting an eye. She speaks her mind and doesn't worry that it isn't appropriate, or that someone will judge her. For a moment you get a glance of who she really is; how she sees herself in her own mind. She'll come out wearing a tu-tu, a sheriff's badge, butterfly wings, and holding a bow and arrow and she'll say that she's a superhero-ninja-fairy-princess. She loves all things girly when it comes to princesses and fairies. She listens as you read tales of  her heroes before she goes to sleep at night. She wants to be both; princess and hero. In her eyes the possibilities are endless. The world is her oyster, and the sky's her limit. She'll go anywhere, do anything, and be anyone. Imagination; that is the key to her world of fantasy and adventure.

 All too soon she'll grow out of this phase. First, she's girl in elementary worried about boys with cooties and how to write in cursive. Then she's teenager who worries what the other girls think of her clothes and now she thinks boys are cute. Eventually she'll find the man she wants to marry (one you approve of , of course) and you'll give her away to another man to weather the tests of marriage together. But she'll never forgot how she used to dress up and save people from the bad guys. You hope that she learns that life isn't about being someone else, it's about remembering who she is. She's your precious daughter. You'll love her forever.

       

 You may be asking why I am writing this. I don't have kids. I'm not a mom. I'll tell you why. The other day I heard a father telling this story about his little girl. Most of the last two paragraphs are his words; the other parts are me. I really liked his analogy, so I wrote it down. I hope you enjoyed it!