Mommy, I'm Beautiful!

“Mommy, I’m beautiful”, three year old Emily rushes into my bedroom and shrieks as she presents to me her latest fashion design. I can’t help but laugh as I assess her outfit. It’s August, but for some reason she has selected snow boots for her tiny feet. I can see a sliver of brown and orange socks peeking out. Instead of a dress, she is wearing a pink camisole. It’s a size eight and made to be worn as an under garment for a much older girl. Fortunately, its long enough to cover her little frame to just above the knees. Over the dress, she is wearing a purple, blue and white striped turtle neck. Around her neck are a rainbow of beads and necklaces that jangle as she bounces up and down. A straw cowboy hat with a red band covers her light brown hair. Her hazel eyes smile at me as she seeks my approval.

Emily has a mind of her own. She has been choosing her own wardrobe since she was two. I always make sure to tell that to everyone who is seeing her fantastic outfits for the first time. Emily has her own ideas about fashion. She prefers dresses to the exclusion of any other clothing item. They have to be pink and they have to be sleeveless. She has even gone to bed wearing a party dress and dancing shoes instead of jammies. She’ll reluctantly wear sneakers but her princess snow boots are her favorite.

Emily doesn’t dress for the weather. Her whims guide her choices. She is likely to pick a wool sweater in July and a strapless sundress in January. “Aren’t you afraid she will be too cold (or hot)” her Grandmother frets. I shrug my shoulders, “I suppose she’ll tell me if she is.” I know from experience that there is no sense trying to change Emily’s mind once she is dressed. “It’s so open minded of you to let her express her creativity”, a friend says. I smile indulgently as I know there is no “letting” or not “letting” involved.

Emily loves things that are pretty. And she has her own sense of beauty. It takes a half hour to walk a half block to the neighbor’s house because Emily must stop and inspect each colorful rock she sees. Before we reach our destination, her arms are laden with dandelions, clover and crabgrass. “Here are some pretty flowers for you.” she giggles. I cherish her gift because I know she selected each item with care and consideration. Just then she’ll notice a rabbit dash out from under a neighbor’s shrub. She’ll skip off after it calling “Come here Bunny, Bunny!”

There’s no telling what Emily will do next. She flits and floats from one happy thought to another accompanied by her best friend, her Bubby Bear. Her bedroom is cluttered with bracelets and hair bows and pink ballet slippers. Her bed is a mountain of Strawberry Shortcake blankets and stuffed animals. She burrows underneath them and sings sweet songs to her favorite doll, June. At bedtime, she often summons me into her room because she needs just one more kiss on her dainty nose. I ask “Do I love you a teeny tiny bit or a whole big bunch?” “A whole big bunch!” she shouts as she throws her arms around my neck. I squeeze her tight, savoring the taste of love. “Go to sleep, Little One”, I whisper.

When I see Emily dance and frolic, I wonder whether I was ever so carefree. My days are filled with the concerns of a grownup – planes to catch, bills to pay and all that jazz. But Emily regularly grounds me so that I don’t forget the important things in life, like bunny rabbits and baby dolls. I feel so lucky and proud to live in the same house with a real Cinderella princess. I call her my “Emily Rosemary Bumblebee Princess Mermaid Butterfly Doodlebop Uniqua Blossom” She calls me “Tasha Bubbles.”

“Tasha Bubbles, do you like my dress?”, Emily says as she glides and twirls around my room. “I DO like your dress!”, I say, “You’re beautiful!” I hope that when Emily is forty three, she knows how beautiful she is. I hope that she never stops seeing the beauty in the little things around her. I hope that she always has the confidence to wear the pretty things she likes the most. But more than that, I hope that when she is all grown up, a fairy princess will come and live with her and bring her the type of joy, happiness and pixie magic that my fairy princess has brought to me.