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This morning I put two plates on the table for breakfast. A Pink one and a Blue one. I didn't give it any thought at all. They were on the top of the pile, they went on the table.
I put the pink one in front of Eliot and the blue one in front of Naomi. I gave it no thought at all.
It was morning.
I was tired.
I was cooking and trying to get some dishes in the dishwasher and wasn't paying any attention.
Eliot looked at the plates and said he didn't want his. He wanted the blue one. And the pink one was for Naomi.
He said it in a matter of fact way. As if I should know that the pink one was of course for her. The blue one was of course for him.
My heart shed a tear.
I haven't been vigilant about keeping pink away from Naomi and blue away from Eliot as some of my fellow open-minded, new-aged mama friend of mine are.
I've also made a point of offering up all sorts of options for my kiddos. Eliot had 2 baby dolls. When he asked for a Barbie band-aid twice at the clinic I let him have them. When I offered him the choice of shirts to get at Target and he wanted the pink one he got to have it.
It got through tho. Pink for girls. Blue for boys. Sigh.
He'll probably get picked on a lot less now that he has 'learned that lesson'.
Still I hate this stuff.
How long until he thinks he can't cry. Or has to be macho. Or refuses to snuggle.
How long until Naomi things she isn't allowed to fight back, or negotiate, or say what she really thinks.
Oh how I wish it could stop at the color coding. Oh how I pray it will.
I put the pink one in front of Eliot and the blue one in front of Naomi. I gave it no thought at all.
It was morning.
I was tired.
I was cooking and trying to get some dishes in the dishwasher and wasn't paying any attention.
Eliot looked at the plates and said he didn't want his. He wanted the blue one. And the pink one was for Naomi.
He said it in a matter of fact way. As if I should know that the pink one was of course for her. The blue one was of course for him.
My heart shed a tear.
I haven't been vigilant about keeping pink away from Naomi and blue away from Eliot as some of my fellow open-minded, new-aged mama friend of mine are.
I've also made a point of offering up all sorts of options for my kiddos. Eliot had 2 baby dolls. When he asked for a Barbie band-aid twice at the clinic I let him have them. When I offered him the choice of shirts to get at Target and he wanted the pink one he got to have it.
It got through tho. Pink for girls. Blue for boys. Sigh.
He'll probably get picked on a lot less now that he has 'learned that lesson'.
Still I hate this stuff.
How long until he thinks he can't cry. Or has to be macho. Or refuses to snuggle.
How long until Naomi things she isn't allowed to fight back, or negotiate, or say what she really thinks.
Oh how I wish it could stop at the color coding. Oh how I pray it will.
posted by Sara at 9:49 PM
4 Comments:
"How long until Naomi things she isn't allowed to fight back, or negotiate, or say what she really thinks."
Snicker. I have a feeling she's gonna be juuuuuust fine. :)
As for Eliot - let him see Daddy cry. If that means you have to MAKE Daddy cry... well.... these things happen. (Kidding, of course, of course.)
Guess what?! Daddy wore pink when he was a baby and at one point had a baby doll. Even carried a purse! What the heck is going on here? Thankfully, God did not make us all of one mind - diversity, diversity, diversity! Some things do just simply develop naturally - it's not about you and another failing job as a mom. You just can't mess with mother nature!
I knew I'd lost the "we are a gentle loving people and don't buy war toys" fight when my guys chewed their toast into the shape of guns and "shot" each other from their highchair and booster seat.
Keep giving them the counter-culture message and love them anyway when they ignore it -- or seem to!
i think dawn's right, naomi isn't going to have any trouble fighting back or speaking her mind. and i think eliot will always have lots of adults around him who will let him cry and snuggle.
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