When I look at my little girl these days, I get that she was not like me when I was her age. She adores pretty things like pink purses. She likes her hair long and adorns it with dainty clips. She loves to dress up and wears my shoes too. When I was her age, I had short or cropped hair. I never played with my mom’s make-up (well, maybe once or twice). But I did try on her shoes because I wanted to be tall. I was not the feminine, dolled-up little girl.
I was one of the boys then. I enjoyed playing outdoors with our neighborhood friends and even my cousins. I was always trying to be part of the boys’ activities whether it’s playing with marbles, matchboxes or riding the bicycles.
My younger brother and I shared one silver BMX bike. We would take turns using it. Being a girl didn’t stop me from doing what boys do even the bike tricks that they always practice. One time, as I was trying to imitate my brother, I had a bad landing and fell on the pavement. When I opened my eyes, my bike was about 5 meters away from me.
I got up with bruises on my legs and arms. I went inside and my mother saw my bruises and said, “You should be careful. Girls shouldn’t have scars on their legs.” At 10 years old, I couldn’t understand what my mother was saying. I really didn’t care about the scars. All I cared about was hopping on my ride for the next adventure.
Now that my little girl is growing up, I would fix he hair and teach her how to be neat and tidy. I remind her how to sit and how not to be rough. But I would also protect her from bites, scratches or bruises just like my mom used to do. But who am I kidding? She’s a child! Let her find her own adventures as long as they won’t physically kill her or poison her.
She used to regularly play with this younger girl daily. They play Barbie and My Little Pony at her friend’s house. Unfortunately, they don’t play as often as before. When I asked her about it, she said she doesn’t know why they haven’t been playing as much. Then she confessed, “Mama, I get bored when I play with her sometimes. All we do is play with dolls. I also want to do something else with my other friends. ”
Lately, I would always hear this little boy calling her out to play. This boy who is a year older than her would go to the house every afternoon to play Lego together or K’nex. Sometimes the boy would invite her to ride the bike but she would feel sad because her bike is not in a good condition. When all the kids in the neighborhood go out with their bicycles, she would be left out.
She has been asking us to get her a new bicycle but we don’t have the budget for a new one. Naturally, she gets envious of her older brother whose bike is intact and regularly rides it with their other friends. After months of waiting, finally my husband went out and bought spare parts for her old bicycle.
That afternoon, hubby focused on replacing the worn out parts while our little girl sat beside her Papa in anticipation. I checked on my husband If he needed any help but I was happy to see the two of them working together. Armed with my surgical gloves, she searched the tools his Papa needed in his toolbox. She does not have a clue what those tools were but her Papa (being a teacher) used descriptive words to point to the right tool. She happily handed him his long-nose pliers and wrench.
Seeing that they were okay, I went back inside to finish what I was doing. Then came our little girl with a cup of iced-cold coffee. I thanked her and hugged her and diverted her attention to her Papa. I told her that the best person to receive this yummy drink was Papa because he was working hard to fix her bike. She looked at me then said, “But you will feel bad if I give the coffee to Papa.” I reassured her that I was fine and Papa needed the drink more than I do. So she picked up the cup and brought it to her Papa outside.
After almost an hour, the bike was finished. Hubby told me it took longer because the size he bought at the store did not fit her bike. He had to do some trimming of the rubber. She couldn’t control her excitement anymore, she hurriedly opened the gate so she could try it out. The look on her face was priceless. After months of waiting, she finally had to the chance to ride her bike again. She is ready for new adventures with her blue bike.
Whether my daughter grows up to be a trend-setter or a manly girl (as my friend calls it), she is who is inside. Her heart is more important than what she wears or what activities she gets involved with. Who knows she might be next Martha Stewart or Gaby dela Merced! But my prayer is that she would be the kind of woman whose desire is to glorify God in all she does.
3 Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 5
1 Peter 3:3-5
*On a side note, I am reminded of a post similar to this about our eldest son who is a boy who doesn’t like sports at all. Check it out here. Do share too while you’re at it. 🙂
