Girls Rule. Boys Drool.

Tucker has baseball camp this week. And as the saying goes, "While Big Brother is Away, Little Sisters Will Play!" With a very high girl-to-boy ratio under the roof of my house, I do my best to give Tucker lots of 'guy' time to himself. It can't be easy on him--living with three younger sisters. He has grown up around Barbies, Polly Pockets, lipgloss, princess costumes and pink. I try to be sensitive to his plight. I try to help his sisters in their sensitivity. I try to encourage his sensitivity to them as well.

But this week....this week, is ALL about the females in the house. This week, we are totally Girling-Out! I've got plans for the next five days..for an Un-ending-Estrogen-Fest! Activities include: Manicures and pedicures, a visit to the American Girl Store, and a movie day filled with the likes of: Soul Surfer, Beauty & the Beast, and Anne of Green Gables. We will be picking up Tucker on Wednesday night and getting together with another family (with a few boys) for a Girls VS. Boys KICKBALL GAME for bragging rights as Champions of the Universe. On Friday, I am taking the girls and a friend from work, to Six Flags for a day of roller-coaster riding where we can scream at the top of our lungs and act silly with no brother to embarrass, and no obligation to do anything boys would want to do. It will be all about US! 

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night, I will 'sleep over' with a different daughter. That is the real point of the whole Girl-Fest. I will be spending some one-on-one time with my girls...having "The Talk" with them, individually. The twins are getting closer to turning 10, and I want to take some more time to answer questions, and tell them more about the changes on the horizon for their bodies and emotions. I want to give them an evening of my time to share with them my story. My heart for them as young women. Tatum is beyond this level of conversation. I took her out for an Overnight-Girl-Fest when she was a little younger than the twins. We went to a hotel with an indoor pool and jacuzzi. We hung out and talked. She is well-into her pre-teen life, but I want to give her time to talk some more. And ask more. 

I love talking with, and teaching my girls about all things girly and womanly. I consider it a privilege. The way I see it, I have the greatest impact on their view of women (in general), and therefore their view of themselves as women...than anyone else in their entire lives. Good, bad, ugly----they will see me living out the life of a woman--in front of them. They have seen my face, my faults, my failures, my flaws, my beauty and my strengths, each and every day they have been mine. I want them to know my thoughts and feelings about being a woman. About being a woman in this culture. About being a woman during this time in history. I want them to look forward to growing up and becoming women. 

I want them to love being a woman as much as I do. So I'm giving them this week. I'm making this week a celebration of being female.

Mom Thought: When it comes to The Birds and The Bees, I teach my children early. I want my children to learn from me, rather than from kids in their classes or neighbors. I want them to know and understand (at their age level), as much as they possibly can. I want to be their first resource...not a supplement to what they learn in school, or read in a book or even see on TV. Certain things need to be taught by me. And no one else can do my job. Well, no one can do it the way it can be done, by their mother. It's my place to teach them. And I love doing so. Without embarrassment, I talk. I share. I answer. I simply refuse to leave the job to someone else. I simply won't let another voice, or outside influence (however well-intending they may be), give my daughters (and son), such valuable, life-shaping, significant details and information. They will remember what I tell them. They will remember how I tell them. They will remember my attitude about what I share. They will remember my openness or my shyness. They will remember if I am sketchy with the details, or avoid the tough questions. I will influence their feelings about the changes in their bodies. I will influence their opinions and beliefs about themselves as women (or men, in Tucker's case). I will influence them with what I teach. I'm not about to leave that to someone else...or take a haphazard or textbook approach. I care too much for that. This is too important. They are too important for that. Their futures are too important. I am raising grown-ups. I am raising women (and a man). And I love it.

The three young women I am raising, and me (a few years ago).