My first instinct when I saw this comic was ... cute - the woman who doesn't have kids gets some understanding... then I looked deeper... these moms are frazzled or worse, upset that their children are expressing themselves creatively outside their homes...
I am NOT THAT MOM - but I could be the next mom who gets a snide comment from someone who doesn't get it... I actually ENCOURAGE my kids to dress up, explore their world and HAVE FUN!
One of Robyn's early memories of playing with her friends was a day that everyone came over and they got into her costume box - we ended up decorating a wagon and having a parade up and down the street! They danced, sang, marched and had a great time...
I am also that mom who lets my son wear nail polish, and put eye shadow on when he's in the bathroom with me and I'm getting ready to go out... he'll probably be embarrased later for me telling you this, but when we were encouraging potty training, we were standing in front of the wall of kids underwear and he picked out Dora - we went with it and yes my son wore 'girls' underwear...
There are so many ways that our kids have to grow up faster than we did - and there are less opportunities to be truly creative and express themselves... I'm taking every opportunity to encourage my kids to explore their entire world and be themselves... even if I get labelled THAT MOM... and if you see me and I look harried and worried, it's because of something larger and more pressing than the fact that my child is showing their individuality and wearing a costume or sporting blue nails...
On the flip side, I am also angry in a way that we women judge each other this way at all... I guess that's also part of being a mom of a child with special needs - my other son only wants to wear pants not shorts no matter how hot and humid it gets... he went through a long sleeve phase too... he will also only wear sneakers, no sandals or dress shoes... as much as I encourage him to try other things... one day I hope we can just be happy that we got out of the house, no matter what our kids are dressed in and keep the cattiness out of it...
What do you think? What is bugging you lately?
