Sometimes, teaching tolerance can come back to bite you....

Starting from the time my daughter was able to look around the world, and notice the individual differences from person-to-person, we started talking with her about how people should be "fairly judged". As you can imagine, I'm talking about the whole "looking beyond someone's physical appearance, to see who they are inside" business. We taught, she listened, all seemed well...

To start with, I am about as far from a "fashionista" as one can get. I have never been to a nail salon, never colored my hair, wear minimal make-up, and am on the yearly hair-trim plan. Needless to say, we do not subscribe in our household to the "typical media images" of what female beauty should be. I do, however, preach about the importance of using soap, shampoo/conditioner, and a razor. My twelve year-old daughter...well... she doesn't want to be the "choir".... Here are some of the highlights of our family "drama" in this department, in three Acts:

ACT 1: NO "POO" !!!!!!

Mother: "I was checking the shampoo level in your bottle today, because I am going to Target. It is just as full today as it was last week. What gives?"

Child: "I use it (nervously looking anywhere but in Mother's direction)."

Mother: "If you are thoroughly cleaning your head, why is just the long part of your hair clean? Your scalp hair is literally frozen in place: you look like you're wearing a "dirty hair mullet"!!!!

Child: "Hmmmppp. Fine. Go away!!!!! (door slams)

Mother: (yelling through closed bathroom door) "Just...clean...your...whole....darn... head, please!"

ACT 2: The Mystery of the Never Shrinking Soap...

Mother: (in a sweet tone, trying to minimize the trauma of the act of showering, which, supposedly, just occurred)"Which soap did you enjoy using in your shower tonight (child currently has 3 bars of soap, and one bottle of gel in shower)?"

Child: "(uninteligible gutteral grumbling)"

Mother: "What?$%!?"

Child: "Soap! I said S-O-A-P!!! Wow, Mom...... Now go away!"

Mother: " If you used S-O-A-P, why can't I smell any hint of fragrance on you?"

Child: "It's the darn water's fault you can't smell anything... Now go away (hard water, apparently, masks all fragrances, except BO)!!!!


ACT 3: All the Little Hairs....

Child: "Mom, can I wear my new shorts tomorrow?"

Mother: "Sure, but be sure to shave your legs tonight."

Child: "I don't want to. You do it."

Mother: "I've showed you how to do it many times... you need to take care of this on your own now."

Child: " (uninteligible gutteral balking noises)"

Child: "No one else my age has to do this!!!!"

Mother: "Remember how excited you were to get that razor last Summer? What's the big deal about it already??? (Mother pauses as she has a moment of insight, which could result in her winning the argument) You do know, don't you, that when your legs are smooth, you can see your muscle tone better (Mother holds her breath, and hopes for the best)?"

Child: (child studies her leg muscles, and flexes them) "Really?"

Mother: "Yep."

Child: "Ohhh.... alright. Now go away!!!"

Yes, through the years we have taught our daughter that she should never judge another person based on their clothes or physical appearance. Now, being the sophisticated almost Teen, she has come back at us that we shouldn't be able to judge her on her lack of "hygiene", either ......GOTCHA!!!

Right now, there is more than enough hot water to go around. She's a pretty "cheap date" to keep supplied in tolietries. I should probably "watch what I wish for", as the tide could change all too soon, and then I'll be complaining about the opposite problem....