beautiful.

Yesterday my Eme Lu was playing dress up. As she got herself all set she walked in to the hallway and said "do you think I look pretty mama?". I stopped. Unsure of what I wanted to say. Normally a response of "yes you look very pretty" would suffice but not this time. Nope. I looked at her in her dress walked over and picked her up and said "honey I think you are always pretty". Because she is.

How do you explain that to your three year old. As she responded with "do you think I look pretty in my dress mama?". "Yes Emelyn, I do think you look pretty in your dress. But I also think you look pretty in your pajamas too." I left it at that. There was no more to say to her because let's face it, she's three. I pondered this conversation for the past day. I finally realized that as a mom to two girls I am going to try my hardest to tell them they are always pretty. Not because of what they are wearing but because THEY are pretty. Their souls are beautiful. I pray that I teach them that having the newest clothes or the best haircut or the biggest "girls" or the nicest car .. that none of these "things" defines beauty. I want them, and Jameson, to know that beauty truly is about who you are. The acts of kindness that you do. How you present yourself. Mainly, how you feel about yourself. And while all of those superficial things can make a person look pretty they also don't make you feel pretty unless you genuinely feel that you are a beautiful person, in and out. We live in a tough world. People are mean. Girls especially seem to say very hurtful things to one another, about one another. If I can teach Eme and Seyla, and Jameson for that matter, a strong foundation to walk through this tough world then maybe, just maybe they will always believe they are beautiful ... because I sure do.