The Beauty of Innocence

This morning when I got Walks with Purpose dressed for school, she twirled around and said "Look at me, Mommy!  I am beautiful!"
I smiled, hugged her and told her that Yes, She Is.

In the car she put on GoGo's sunglasses.  She noted that I too had sunglasses on.
Then she said "I am beautiful and You beautiful too, Momma!"  She wore the biggest, sweetest smile.
I almost cried, amazed at her innocence and sweetness.

Just the other day I read another mom's blog about whether or not she should tell her 2 daughters that they are pretty.  I had to think about that one for a while.  Of course if my girls are playing dress up and get all glammed up, I tell them they look wonderful.
If they ask, I always affirm them.
I call them cutie pie, beautiful and my D, I call handsome.  But usually those are pet names just loosely tossed around.  I don't go out of my way to tell any of them that they are physically beautiful (even though I think they all are) because I don't want them to get all wrapped up in that.  I tell them how important is to be pretty on the inside, the way we treat one another is more important.  I tell them way more often how creative and smart they are, and how they can do anything they put their minds to.

Pretty Is As Pretty Does, as my grandma told me more than once.  And I don't recall being told I was beautiful or pretty very often growing up.  But I often got the lecture about beauty being skin deep and what was on the inside counting more.
Did my family do me a disservice by this?  Dunno.
The point of this woman's blog was to say that if she doesn't tell her girls they are beautiful, who will?  She also tells them the same stuff my grandma told me but her idea about affirming her girls now, at home, so they don't go looking for it elsewhere later has stuck with me.

I think all three of my children are absolutely beautiful and yes, I am a bit biased.
Mothers are supposed to be.
I just think I may share this opinion with them a bit more, going forward.  I don't want them searching for something later that I could have given them for free at home.

I think most parents try to give their kids a better life experience than they had whether that means more material stuff, more love, more time.  I want my kids to look back and wish they could be kids again some day, not be thankful they have escaped.  And if that means talking about the pretty a little bit, then so be it.