The Strut

All this week the Sidekick has been begging to wear her swimming suit.  She wore her swimming suit to CK's swim lessons all week even though she wasn't doing any swimming herself.  The little thing strutted around outside the pool in her white polka dot swim suit and cowboy boots feeling nothing but heart-stoppingly beautiful.  Tonight when she got pajamas on - a pink leotard with stars on it and purple leopard-print stretch pants - she threw a blue sweater over the top, looked at herself in the mirror and asked, "Who do I remind you of Mom?"

"I don't know," I said, "is there somebody you remind yourself of?"

CK piped up from behind us, "I think you look like Barbie."

"Yeah.  I look like Barbie," she blithely agreed and swayed from side to side to see every last gorgeous angle of herself she could.

Which is funny.  Because right now mirrors are my nightmare.  Swimming suits are my enemy.  If somebody said I looked like Barbie, I would cry and call them mean.

Which is also funny.  Because the thing I've noticed about the Sidekick, is the more she thinks she is beautiful, the more she really is beautiful.  She can throw the craziest pants and shirts together and then wear a necklace as a head band and her bracelet around her elbow and she looks stunning.  Of course that is from a mother's eyes, but she at least has the CK and I convinced.

So what I'm saying is, I so totally need to get my white-polka dot swim suit and cowboy boot strut on.  It just looks like the way to live.