I have been thinking a lot about being a woman in our culture. So much in the news about rape mentality and “leaning in” and how women dress and now that Eve is growing up I have it all swirling in my head. She has very long legs and a slender body so things that fit around her waist are often too short, in my opinion. However, trying to explain “too short” is tricky. In school I just tell her there is a “finger-tip” policy, which she promptly, and rightly, argues that others are doing it so why can’t she? Outside of school the discussion is trickier.

Let’s all go to the movies…

She wore this outfit the other day. That used to be a suitable dress, a few inches ago. I told her she needs to put something under it. She pulled up the skirt and showed me the short shorts that were already under it. She’s a smart girl and knows that she always needs something under a skirt. However, the shorts and the dress are both too small! I tell her that and she says, but why, they fit fine. I tell her they are too short and she says, “too short for what?” Therein lies the question. Too short for what?

Hmmm… too short for her prudish mother? Too short for those long legs? Too short for today’s culture? I have no real answer. She isn’t wearing them to be sexy, obviously, and not even really for “comfort” like some women argue about scant clothing.  Mostly she wears them because she likes them and they fit last year and they still feel comfortable so why not. I know I need to go through her drawers, again, and take out everything I think is too small, however, I can’t do that forever. She is going to have those long legs for the rest of her life and she needs to be confident in her body and her attire, but still not make herself an easy target.  I am grateful that she is a strong, capable girl with great social skills and I know that will take her far in life, I just hope I can teach her to take care of herself and someday come up with a good reason to explain “too short.”

I saw this on the wall in the bathroom at the vet’s office. Random place, but I love the quote and it somehow seems relevant to this post.

Big kids, big problems.

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Our neighbors got a new camper and invited Eve to sleep over the first night. She was pretty excited.

All ready for a sleepover.

We had a nice chat on the walk over too. She told me that she often feels jealous of Lex because he is older and gets to do a lot of stuff (in her mind) that she doesn’t, but she tries to reminder herself that there are things she does that he doesn’t, like sleepovers. She said she feels a little sad for Lex that he doesn’t get to have fun sleepovers and sleepaway camps. It was a nice conversation, and when I told Alan about it later he said that they had a similar conversation a few days ago at breakfast, only it was him pointing those things out to her! It’s always nice to hear evidence that your kid is listening! :)

My neighbor said she bought the camper because she has fond memories of camping as a child and playing in their camper. Reminded me of the old tow-behind we used to have parked in the side lawn and all the fun times we had playing in it. It was like our own little play house.

Big smiles!

I woke up in the middle of the night to a big thunder storm and immediately thought of Miss Eve in a camper! She told me later that she woke from the first drop of rain that fell and stayed awake through the whole storm. She said she wasn’t scared, just couldn’t sleep. I bet there were a few emotions going on that she wasn’t telling me about. :)

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Eve and I participated in the final 5K for Girls on the Run.  We had a super fun time.  Eve ran the whole way (so did her friend!), and I ran most of it, only walking briefly on the two big hills! 😁

Hair spray. She was most excited for this!

Silly girl.

I love this girl. She's radiant!

Some of her GOTR team all sillied up!

These two are so cool.

I tried to get a good photo at the start line, but these silly girls weren't up for it. 😄

All done!!

Eve and her "battle scars." She is quite proud of them! She fell about a mile into the race, scraped up both knees and her side, but got up and kept on going!

After the race we stopped at Solar Show and Tell to pick up Lex, who was there with Alan representing the energy commission.

Time for some quiet "recharging."

They also had a bouncy house (solar powered!) at the Solar Show and Tell, so we hung out there for awhile while Eve got even more big muscle activity!! 😄

Then we got lunch at Panera did some birthday present shopping, came home for a bit to clean up, then back out to drop Miss Eve off at a sleep-over birthday party!! She is going to be a wreck tomorrow!!  Most of the party girls were also at the 5K, so maybe they will all go to sleep early! 

Eve and I had a fun girls day out today! She earned two tickets to Girls Expo from her cookie sales so we headed up there today to check it out. It was an expo alright, in the Exposition Center, with lots of booths selling stuff and lots of activities and lots and LOTS of girls! :)

On the way in we had to pause and think hard about which way we wanted to go! Eve said, “It’s a good thing Grandpa Tom isn’t here!” :)

Making a Bristle Bot with terrible instructions and incomplete parts.

Fortunately Eve is a smarty and figured it out anyway!

Checking out the gymnastics bus. Eve loved it! There were trampolines and bars and rings and lots of other gymnastics things in there. And no grownups allowed! :)

Building a grow box. I think you’re supposed to plant seeds in it and watch it grow but Eve wants to just use it as a display box for her stuff.

I was surprised in this workshop at how many mothers did most of the project for their kids. I saw mothers opening the bags and spreading out the pieces while their daughters just sat there and stared. I saw girls running around while the mothers were reading directions and trying to figure out how to build the things. I saw mothers talking with each other and complaining that the instructions were too hard and didn’t make sense. Seriously, they were little wooden building kits. Eve did hers without even reading the instructions. Not really that hard. I helped her hold pieces together and helped hammer the nails all the way in, but otherwise she did it all while I watched the other people and realized that maybe the reasons girls grow up helpless is because their mothers are hovering over their heads, doing the work for them while simultaneously complaining how hard it is to follow simple instructions and hammer in a few nails.

Painting canvas totes. Eve met her friend, fellow scout, and neighbor there and we hung out with her for awhile. Eve makes beautiful faces, doesn’t she! :)

Back on the bus.

Eve ran a pedal-powered blender and peddled her way to a delicious smoothie!

We ended the expo here. These blocks are awesome and so fun to build with, but Eve was loopy and getting rowdy with them, so I decided it was time to head out.

We left the expo around 2:30 and headed out to do some clothes shopping. Poor Eve is wearing holey, too small clothes all the time these days! I figured it was about time to get the girl something that fits. We stopped for pizza along the way. There was a bakery next to the pizza place, so after lunch we went into the bakery to get some dessert. Faced with donuts and cookies and cakes and all sorts of treats, Eve decided she wasn’t ready for dessert and we left. I could have eaten everything in there, but I took advantage of her will power and we got the heck out of there!

We spent the next few draining hours at nearby outlet stores, trying on clothes and trying to be patient with one another. Neither of us really like shopping. Eve takes EONS in the dressing room then comes out dancing and singing and being totally useless. She argued with me about what fits (like too small overalls with no shirt – hilarious!) and I had to remind myself of the right questions to ask. Not “Do you want it?” but instead “Will you wear it?” Often the answer to those two questions was not the same!

After three stores and a big pile of clothes we decide to call it quits. We ducked in to a cute market and picked up some ice cream and chocolate, then swung by Dunkin Donuts for caffeine and bagel twists, then headed home!

Over all it was super fun and I’m so grateful to get quality one-on-one time with my growing girl. I am also grateful that tomorrow is a no plans day! :)