3.) Write a post, poem, or story that somehow incorporates the word: Sparkle
My girls have never been interested in nail polish. I thought taking them to get manicures when they were four and five was such a cute idea, but they never wanted to go back. They’ve never allowed me to paint their nails myself, they don’t particularly care when I paint my own nails, and they never take their socks off. So not only do they NOT want to wear nail polish, but they don’t even really want to look at their nails.
Imagine my surprise when the other day they were all, “Oh MOM! Can we paint our NAILS!?!”
And so they did. They pulled out a dark red and painted away and were all, “You want to wear them to school tomorrow?!?!”
But then they found a bright pink and were all, “Oh MOM! Can we paint our nails with THIS color instead? Look at it sparkle!”
So they sat there and painstakingly removed all the dark red in favor of the bright pink sparkle and were all, “You want to wear them to school tomorrow!?!”
But they had to take a bath and after the bath the polish was chipping and fading and I agreed to apply a second coat of the bright pink sparkle. I wasn’t really sure where all this enthusiasm for their nails was coming from, but I kind of liked it!
Except the next morning I found them with the nail polish remover and I was all, “What are you doing NOW?” and one of them was all, “We’re taking our nail polish off…” and the other was all, “Mmhhmm…too embarrassing…” and together they kind of cringed and continued scrubbing. As if they just couldn’t believe they actually thought this was a good idea the night before.
As much as I wanted to get on them about the nail polish and polish remover and all that TIME they had just wasted putting it on and taking it off and putting it on and taking it off AGAIN, I couldn’t help but relate. Wasn’t it me who recently kept the family waiting in the car while I changed an outfit at the last minute? AGAIN. Unable to make up my own mind.
I guess this was inevitable…they are girls after all. There are not enough positive affirmations in the world that can be said, that will build up the confidence they’ll need to ignore the over-thinking self doubt that seeps in while the polish dries.
Disappointed, I watched them remove the bright pink sparkle from their nails.
Ellen says
Tell us about the last thing you Google searched…what did you learn?
I researched for a Health report for my Early Childhood Education class for college. I chose Celebral Palsy because one of our family friends has it. I learned that the type of CP that she has the most severe type. There is no cure for CP. She may or may not learn to walk or speak.
But I wouldn’t change anything about her. She brightens up any room with her smile and giggles.
Can’t wait to see her and meet her new sister in a few weeks when they come visit for the holidays!!
Katie says
It is amazing how girls confidence can be worked upon at such early ages? This can change as they mature, but we rarely get over it completely.
DGMommy (Tamara) says
One of my daughters won’t leave the house with her hair done in any way. “Too embarrassing,” she says. How can looking beautiful be embarrassing? I don’t get it, but our daughters would probably get along.
Thanks for another week of writing prompts! You rock!
Jamie@southmainmuse says
I did the same thing with my daughter at about 6 or 7. Took her to get a manicure. She was like “so?” I’ll also try to shamelessly force some mother and daughter bonding when it’s first turning warm outside. If we are going down to Florida to visit family for Spring Break, I suggest, “Let’s go to the store and pick out polish for our toenails.” We do and inevitably she picks out black. Or wants to paint each nail a different color. But if I was a tween and there was such thing as black polish back then — that’s probably what I would have selected.
Christine @ Love, Life, Surf says
This is one of the things that I worry about and struggle with most as a parent – the positive affirmations in a world and culture that isn’t always so positive and dreamy. I have two boys but I see a similar self-doubt creep in with him. PS – After receiving your weekly prompts for months, this is the first week that I’m linking up! Thanks so much for the inspiration.
Sue says
Hey…at least you spent the time with them putting the sparkle on. That’s where the memories are made. :)
Emily Cullen says
Ah ha! A post about sparkle nail polish that actually turned into something profound!
Kim says
You should take their actions as a good sign – they were happy with themselves without the polish. They’re good enough just as they are.
And I bet you looked good enough in the first outfit that you subsequently rejected.
Mama Kat says
You know I actually did consider that! But they were so thrilled to have the nail polish and I think it was the “too embarrassing” comment that showed me they were being too embarrassed to go to school wearing something they actually liked. Boo.
Natalie says
My 3 year old girls are obsessed with all things sparkly…are you trying to say that the love of the sparkles won’t go away?
Mama Kat says
They’ll always love the sparkles I think, but in this case I see them playing it down for the sake of fitting in at school. Which is kind of strange, because doesn’t everyone at school love sparkles too?
JulieK says
Don’t be disappointed. They tried something new, with enthusiasm. But then they were self aware enough to realize it was not for them. Better that then having them go to school with it and feel awkward bc they wore something that didn’t represent their true style or personality! :)
Cute story!
OneMommy says
Mine would love the pink sparkle — the more sparkle, the better in her mind. Maybe next time!
Mimi says
lol My oldest daughter is complete girly. My second daughter is Sporty Spice! Oldest loves pink and polka dots. Second sweatshirts and jeans. Your girls are just sparkly on the inside. =)
Jen says
There are things that I love about being a girl but this self doubt and worry… I do not like.
Dara Dokas says
My high school daughter likes sparkle nail polish. She also likes black! I rarely wear nail polish on my fingernails because they chip so easily, but painted toenails are essential!
Having said that, I currently have GOLD nail polish on my fingernails. My daughter’s school colors are gold and black. She’s wearing gold and black. I decided gold would be holiday festive. You can’t imagine how many comments I’ve gotten. Apparently not a lot of moms/adult women wear gold polish.
Oh, well. Like you said, I’m not going to over think it. I’m going to rock this gold polish!
Sara Carbaugh says
Aww this totally sounds liek something me and my sister would have done back in the day! Lol My daughter LOVES to have her nails painted and she’s only 4! I’ll ship her over to your house whenever you have an urge to paint tiny nails because I am pretty anti painting most of the time. Unless it’s a pedicure at the salon… that’s a different situation… ;)
The Meaning of Me says
I almost did this prompt instead of the Google one because my daughter absolutely loves pink and sparkle – the more pink and sparkle, the better. I even found a thing on Pinterest that actually says something like that. Anyway, I love this because mine does this sort of thing. Over the summer we bought bright pink and purple nail polish. We meticulously painted our nails – matching, even! Ten minutes after it dried, she wanted it changed! And so we changed it. And we did this for about three days before I finally cried uncle and screamed that there would be NO. MORE. NAIL.POLISH. EVEEEER. Which, of course, lasted like a week.
Fun prompt – and thanks for the weekly workshop. Always fun!
Kisatrtle says
That’s too funny as my son who is in the third grade still polishes his…LOL. He told me his friends know he’s a Tom girl
Jennifer says
Awww… I hate the self-confidence and acceptance issues girls deal with. My daughter is only five and already gets upset over certain items of clothing claiming they make her look like a baby or look dumb. I don’t know if these are her opinions or if someone in her class has said something to her, but it breaks my heart that she is already second-guessing herself at five!
Jennifer says
I hate they don’t feel comfortable enough to wear the polish to school. The desire to fit in is killer. I’ve preached to Cady from day one to be herself, but still, she hasn’t really gotten it. Maybe this is just a lesson that we all have to learn on our own.
Daree says
I had already planned to watch the movie “Sparkle” over the weekend, so prompt #3 was perfect. Here’s my post for Monday:
http://dareesinsights.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/birthday-bling-food-freebies/