Proud Mom Moment

I just had a proud mom moment and I couldn't wait to share.

My oldest daughter was pushing her doll around the house in the stroller and talking to it. At one point I overheard the conversation. She said, "Oh Princess Wiki, you're so smart and funny. I love you."

WOW. I must be doing something right. Kids tend to repeat the things they hear, so I'm glad the message she's getting is that she's smart and funny as opposed to pretty or cute. Not that being pretty or cute is a bad thing, but I think it's great that her sense of self isn't based entirely on the way that she looks. I think that girls have enough pressure to look a certain way and I'm glad that my husband and I are laying the foundation that she's more than just a pretty face. She's smart. She's funny. She has value and more to offer than just what's on the surface. So maybe, sometime down the road when she gets teased for having a big nose (inevitable since I have a huge Roman honker) or being short or being skinny, she'll brush it off because her entire self worth won't be based on physical attributes.

The beauty of being smart or funny is that nobody can take that away from you with an opinion. If you're smart, you'll always be smart. If you're funny, you'll always be funny. Personality traits and intelligence aren't nearly as subjective to the whims of per-pubescent sheeple as beauty, and confidence based on those types of factors is a lot harder to shatter than confidence that's only skin deep.