Not a princess...

Cowboy Boots - that is the dress code of the day around here. They look particularly smashing with the blue shorts she has chosen to compliment them. I try to let my kids determine their own style most days. It keeps everyone happier around the house and it provides mounds of entertainment for us adults. My little girl will mostly wear only "cool boy clothes". Which I indulge her. Her combinations are less than appealing sometimes.

Around Mother's Day her school took photos to make a gift for us moms. They framed it and wrapped it and it was a really cute gift. The problem is that on that particular day my little girl wore boy clothes to school - like most days. Whoever did the photos didn't like what she wore so they took a giant bow off of another little girl and topped my child's head with it. They figured she needed to look like a girl, but what I got was a picture of my cute little tomboy with a giant bow on her head. I love the picture, heck I love any picture with my kids in it, but when I look at it I see everything that she is not because they tried to make her into something she is SO NOT.

What is it with the world and stereo types? My friends can't believe that I actually mow our lawn (gasp!) and can run all of our power tools. Meanwhile my husband does the dishes almost daily and does laundry whenever the pile gets too big. I guess I'm lucky that I found someone that can appreciate me and my ideals. I would not say that I'm a feminist, but I just don't think that because I'm a female the inside of the house is my job and the outside is his job. That just seems so archaic to me. If it is a pretty day and I want to be outside, well, why not get something done? Last time I checked you don't need to have a special license to drive a mower.

So I'll continue to mow the lawn when it is convenient for me and I'll let my kids determine their own style. I'll try to teach them that they can do whatever it is that they want to do, and it has nothing to do with whether they are a girl or a boy. Sometimes I look around and think that our world has come a long way and other times it seems that we are on a treadmill and getting no where. There are opportunities for my girls in so many areas, but changing the way people think and treat them will never be fully changed. Not every girl loves pink and wants to be a princess!!