The Dichotomy that is Emma
by Kym on February 26, 2007
There’s something altogether sweet about the above photo. Emma brought me the Snow White outfit Neil bought her and asked, “Pretty princess dress? Please mommy?”
I have to confess that I’m a bit resistant to the idea of my two year old traisping around the house in a frilly dress, twirling and twitting about shouting, “Princesssss! Pretty Princesssss!” for hours at a time. It gets a bit wearing, and there are other aspects of her personality I’d rather encourage.
Like her curiousity, her bubbly bouncy active side, her love of music and dance, her love of all things outdoors, dirty and otherwise. Emma is a girl who loves to run and jump, and muck about in the dirt. She likes to roll around and goof off and giggle so hard she ends up gasping for breath. She chases us around the house yelling, “Ticka-ticka-ticka!”, waggling her fingers and screeching with delight when she catches us and tickles us mercilessly. “I got you! I tickling you!”
There’s something about the Emma pictured below that trumps the sweetness pictured above. Here she is with her hair wild and scraggly from running away from mommy, her nose is wrinkled and her teeth are bared in a slightly feral grin.
This is the Emma I love. I don’t need a pretty princess with perfect hair and perfect manners. I prefer the messiness, the giggles and the tickles.
I hope to grown up soon. I hope to find in myself the wisdom and the strength to nurture my daughters in whatever aspect of life. Whether they be tomboys or pretty princesses. And I hope they read what I wrote here someday, so that if I don’t pull it off, they’ll at least know that I wanted to.
15 comments
I keep trying to comment on your blog, and my computer keeps revolting. It’s becoming a tad irritating…I think Blogger hates me.
She is a doll! (Can’t help it, I love exclamation points…) BabyGirl has the Sleeping Beauty dress and she wears it constantly while trying to trap her brother into a marriage I’m not sure he’s quite ready for. How can you not just love them?
by Farm Wife on February 26, 2007 at 10:56 pm. #
“I hope to find in myself the wisdom and the strength to nurture my daughters in whatever aspect of life.” I hope I can do the same thing with my kids.
And who says we have to grow up?
by An Ordinary Mom on February 27, 2007 at 12:26 am. #
Ahh . . . I can hear that sweet little giggle in my head right now . . . hug her once extra from her “Auntie Kate” tonight. :)
by Kate on February 27, 2007 at 12:41 am. #
This is off topic to your post today, but I had to tell you that I’m enjoying reading your blog.
I’ve made it through the first few months’ postings, and plan to catch up to the current ones. I laughed out loud at your “10 weird things list” when I read that you are Canadian and thus use the letter “u” indiscriminately. I’ve been wondering what I’ll do when/if God gives us children and it comes time for me to teach them. Am I supposed to teach them both spellings? And what in the world am I to do about phonics? Should I go with the American pronunciation for things like pasta, drama, decal, etc. Or do I let them sound like Canadians, while people still make fun of me for sounding so outlandishly American? Seriously, is there anyone besides me who frets over the effect changing countries has on one’s spelling and phonics habits?
I was also excited to read about where you are located. One of my new friends has a cabin in your area, one that we’ve been invited to check out someday. It certainly nice and very fun to be reading a blog from someone just a few hours north-ish of me. (I’m horrid with directions.) You are a great writer, and your sense of humor is enough to endear you to anyone who happens by your blog. Keep it up!
by Inkling on February 27, 2007 at 1:34 am. #
Farm Wife – I love it when someone whose blog I love comes to visit mine! Hello!
Lucy – Ahh…good point. My Dad, however, says that everyone has to grow up, but you can be immature forever.
Kate – Will do. Can’t wait till this summer when you can do it in person.
by Kimberly on February 27, 2007 at 3:31 am. #
Inkling – You made my day in the extreme. Seriously, I got teary, I’m so flattered.
I get the different countries spelling/phonetics thing! We thought we might stay in the States so it preyed on my mind quite a bit.
And it is so neat that we’re only a few (five) hours apart. I love that!
by Kimberly on February 27, 2007 at 3:46 am. #
Emma is so cute. My Delaney has a wonderfully diverse personality, too. It’s so fun to watch them develop their little personalities. Delaney will be 6 tomorrow. For her birthday, she chose a beautiful, very girly pink toy pony and a remote controlled tarantula…see the dichotomy here as well. :)
I’m glad you enjoyed the homemaking meme….it’s all an illusion. When I first did training to be a flight nurse, an older nurse said, “the trick is to just LOOK like you know what you’re doing…nobody else will know the difference.” I try really hard, but for all the times I vacuum twice a day, there are six loads of folded laundry on the dining room table, and they’ve been there since Friday!
by Kim on February 27, 2007 at 3:59 am. #
I just want to say that we are bang cutting kindred spirits. We have not need for hair stylists. We scoff at them.
by Carrotjello on February 27, 2007 at 5:45 am. #
Kim – Glad to hear you’re normal…guess we can be friends after all. Phew!
Carrot – “Scoff scoff scoff!”
by Kimberly on February 27, 2007 at 3:55 pm. #
Aw, she’s so cute :D
by Kara on February 27, 2007 at 6:18 pm. #
Cute :D
her nose is wrinkled and her teeth are bared in a slightly feral grin.
Love that picture!.
by No Cool Story on February 27, 2007 at 10:31 pm. #
I love to let Bee pick out outfits that are just totally unmatched and let her wear them out of the house. It shows her personality showing thru. She has two pairs of shoes that are the same style just different colors… pink and red. She loves to wear one of each to make a pair. She had worn them like that several times when one of our friends at church finally asked if they were really a pair of shoes or if she had a matching pair like them at home.
While I do like to doll her up for church on Sundays, I also like for her to have fun and pick her own stuff. Although she is currently in trouble for pulling every piece of clothing off the hangers in her closet after being put to bed a few nights ago and then proceeding to put on 4 outfits (at the same time) and then putting her blanket sleeper on top of the whole ensemble. It was hilarious on one hand, but I had to hand everything that I’d just hung up a few before all over again. Oh well!!
by Grace on February 27, 2007 at 11:10 pm. #
I just had to pipe in again. BabyGirl spent all day in her Sleeping Beauty dress, pink elbow length satin gloves, a pink feather boa, pink superhero cape, pink plastic high heels, and a tiarra. We have a theme.
Oh, and Inkling is my cousin & I grew up with Grace…small world.
by Farm Wife on February 28, 2007 at 1:58 am. #
Farm Wife – And Emma spent the day in her dad’s floppy faded black hat, carrying her princess wand, and wearing the arm rests for her booster seat as slippers. And her Oma is trying to track her down a cape because she keeps wrapping blankets around her shoulders and calling herself a princess. Too cute!
And yup…I’m stalking the lot of you, apparently. =P
by Kimberly on February 28, 2007 at 5:05 am. #
LOVE it!!! My nieces have always preferred frogs and snails and puppy dog tails. They have a chrysalis in a plastic box that they are observing. They’re 5 and 3. But they, too enjoy dressing up from time to time, even if they would rather not be all girly-girl the maority of the time.
My 16 month old never has tolerated hair bows very well. Her cousin is 6 weeks younger and lives in them from dawn to dusk. Que sera, sera!!
by lauren on March 1, 2007 at 5:31 pm. #