Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Male Chauvinist in Training

Other than a few blips here and there, I would describe myself as a tomboy.  Yes, I have polished toenails and bizarre hightlights in my hair, but these do not keep me from climbing trees and never thinking to brush my hair, let alone do something with it.  (God inspired man to create the ponytail holder for a reason, people.)  I can tackle and wrestle and hike and climb and run and throw a punch as well as most boys...and better than several I know.  I can build fires and purify water and make a shelter in the wilderness and chop wood.

Which is why I find conversations like the one today at Target while I was looking at a t-shirt particularly distressing.  I have no idea where it comes from.

Nathaniel:  Mommy, that won't fit you.

Me: (bristling) What do you mean it won't fit me?! (Holding it up in front of me to show that it would most definitely fit me!)

Nathaniel: Yeah, but it's not long enough.

Me:  What do you mean it's not long enough?  It's a T-shirt.

Nathaniel:  Girls shouldn't wear t-shirts.  They should only wear skirts and dresses.

Me: ... Who told you THAT?!

Nathaniel: (gives a distressingly Gallic shrug--where did he learn THAT, too?!)

Me:  Nathaniel, what am I wearing right now?

Nathaniel:  (sweeping his eyes over my apparel and sizing up the pants and t-shirt with flip flops that is my every day look)  Hm.  Yeah, but you look like a boy when you dress like that.

There are days when I totally get those animal mothers who eat their young.

3 comments:

Anne Marie said...

Oh, friend, I wish you lived closer. You make me laugh. Amen to the ponytail holder invention. And, in answer to your question, my brother is living in NJ for the school year, so he came out for a few days. My sister, Tina, lives in Mass. so she came at the very end of our visit, but by then, I had gotten very lazy and forgetful with my camera (I'll have to ask my dad for some pics of her).

Carrie Nation said...

As far as who taught Nathaniel such behavior, I promise it wasn't my husband (aka his primary teacher)!

Maybe he doesn't think of you as a girl? You're just Mom.

Hope you don't mind me reading your blog. I use an alias, but I think you can figure it out. Wife of said primary teacher; the one who gets up at 5:30 am every morning now instead of you. By the way, did the students ever "toilet paper" your place when you were teaching them?

Emilia said...

haha! No, they didn't. But there was more than one "ring and run". Little scamps.