After one of my very first marriage posts, I received a comment that upset me. Someone had made a few very opinionated statements and my first reaction was to be angry. I commented back trying to disagree with her in the nicest way possible. Then after a day had passed, I read the comment again. I actually began wondering, do I talk about my marriage too often? Is it wrong of me to write that I love and respect my husband? Does it sound like I am bragging? It was almost as if my passion for my marriage and family, and my happiness had offended her in some way. Of course, I recognized that I had a right to be happy and there was no reason to let someone else’s negative opinion upset me, so I decided to delete the comment.
I realize that blogging is just like anything else in life. We are going to cross paths with people who have different views and opinions. We are going to meet people who are kind, happy, and mostly positive and we are going to meet those that are not. Although, I wonder, unless it is someone’s job to be a critic, why do some people let the negative thoughts turn into words? Shouldn’t we encourage happiness? Isn’t it the positive thoughts that we should let flow so freely?
This morning Jocelyn called me into her room as she was getting dressed for school. She was holding up a red satin dress with rhinestones that she wore to her uncle’s wedding last year. My first thoughts were that she would be the only person at the school dressed up in a shiny red party dress. I said, “Why don’t you wear something else? Maybe you can wear it to school in a few months for your Christmas party.” She looked disappointed and started looking through her closet for something else.
As I walked away, I thought about why I tried to change her mind. It was not because I would think the dress was too fancy if I saw another little girl at school wearing it. It was because I have heard many comments by other parents about how Easter dresses, certain types of shoes and red polish are not appropriate for school. My daughter is a spunky little seven year old who loves to express herself through her colorful, sparkly and versatile wardrobe. She has her favorite t-shirts and they are usually the faded ones that she has worn dozens of times. She also likes to wear fancy holiday dresses and her neon pink Hannah Montana fake hair clip to school. I usually let her wear whatever she chooses, because I love to see her express herself.
After thinking about it for a few seconds I said, “Actually… go ahead and wear it.” She wanted to know why I changed my mind. I told her that it is a fancy dress, but it is beautiful and since she doesn’t have P.E. she should wear what she wants. So she did. She put it on and when I dropped the girls off at school, Jocelyn climbed out of the truck and walked towards the gate. All of the other kids were in shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes, but not my Jocelyn. She was in a little fancy red satin dress and she was glowing. She wasn't worried about what other people would think or the negative comments she might get, she just did what made her happy.
