Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
While their brothers were in school Wednesday, Sydney and Madalyn had their first manicures. Iridescent pink. And purple... and white. (Hey, toddlers have a hard time making decisions, and 'a girl can change her mind, you know.')
The fingernails were the first thing Madalyn showed Evan when he got in the car that afternoon, the first topic of conversation-
"Ohhh, they're sooo pretty, Madalyn," he said, much to her satisfaction. Then he turned to ask me if I would paint his like Madalyn's.
Shaun came home late that evening, after bedtime, so he never saw the nails that day. But the next morning he awoke to a plump, dimpled hand fanned in front of his face, as, understandably, showing off her finger nails was top priority that day, Madalyn's waking thought. Charmed, Shaun knew one thing was for sure- he'd never be woken up sweeter. That was the peak of his wake-up moments, right there. Not even a Christmas morning back in the 80's could top it.
I'm not a very girly girl I don't think. I mean, I like a manicure once in a blue moon. I like getting dressed up and having nice things but I don't enjoy shopping on any given day of the week. I have to be in the mood, and when I am, I get things done. I don't stop at every mannequin to oooh and aaah and assess things. Walk in, quick scan around, grab some hangers and I'm half way there. I don't like chick flicks just because there's a boy and a girl and a love story. I hated Ever After and Return to Me and Sweet Home Alabama and Maid in Manhattan, and countless others... (Okay so I never saw that last one, but I'm pretty sure I know where I stand on it.)
But a good love story, one well-told and well-acted... Now that I love. Like The Notebook or Far and Away, Something's Gotta Give, When Harry Met Sally, My Big Fat Greek Wedding or The Cutting Edge. (So I've seen way too many movies, now that I think about it but that's beside the point...)
The point. The point(!) is that watching Madalyn get SO MUCH JOY out of painted fingernails made me realize that if she's a girly girl, well then I will be too. Or to quote The Notebook since I just mentioned it; if she's a bird, I'm a bird.
When she told me that her polish was almost all gone today I asked her if she'd want me to paint them again sometime. She muttered something about Shasta and her face showed it was a certain yes.
Side note here: Shasta would be code for my friend Stephanie. For some reason Madalyn calls Stephanie by her dog's name, and has been so stubborn about it, no matter how many times she's corrected, that we've given up and Stephanie is officially Shasta to her. And it's so darn cute, the familiarity with which she says it, that who can blame us? Stephanie's kids call me Miss Donnell, so what does it really matter anyway, right? Aunt Shasta it is.
But that was when it became clear to me, that moment when she muttered about Shasta painting her nails again with bright, hopeful eyes, that was the moment when I realized if she wanted us to paint each others nails every day for the rest of our lives I was game. If she wanted to spend several minutes of our lives talking about fashion, if my back ached while we dissected every shoe Dillards had on display, I would not only do it, I would enjoy it.
If she loves Ever After, finds the screenplay to be deep and flawless (which I doubt she will, knowing there is a very rough and tumble side to her,) then so be it. If she likes every boy meets girl story, that's just peachy with me. I will even go so far to say that if she cries during a movie starring Jennifer Lopez, if she's reaching for tissues because J-LO has her that moved, then I will probably even cry with her. Because when I look at Madalyn, painted little fingernails and beyond, I see how much we're made of the same stuff. And she moves me.
