These Three Girls

When Peyton was around three years old she was smack dab in the midst of her dress-up period, which incidentally coincided with her love of Disney Princess movies. She must have watched Cinderella one million times... Let's put it this way, we both could recite all the lines and songs by heart and sometimes I would dream them. No joke. She had quite a cache of princess dress-up clothes to choose from, but her standby outfit was the Snow White dress paired with hot pink cowgirl boots. Because she was my first child and I didn't know any better, I tried to disuade her from wearing this get-up in public. This caused quite a significant amount of opposition from Peyton, until I finally realized it wasn't worth the drama, struggle, and/or effort to get her to change. She wore her princess clothes everywhere. And hence, became the "princess" of the family.



Quincy was different. From a young age she was attracted to more physcial activities. Her toddler body seemed to be composed entirely of muscles that bulged from her little arms, tummy and legs. Her bottom was the exact antithesis of her Mommy's "white girl" bum. She loved Spiderman and Superman, and when her sister dressed up as a pinkalicious princessy maiden for Halloween, Quincy chose to dress as Spiderman. She knew how to crouch down low and convincingly shoot webs from her hands, too. She had a pair of Superman jammies, fully equipped with a red cape that flew dramatically behind her when she'd run really fast - which, of course she did with great frequency. Quinny was our "tomboy girl."



However, just when we had figured them out it seemed... they changed it up on us, teaching us that it isn't necessarily fair to label them or pigeon hole them in a certain way. Just this last fall, Peyton told me that she had no interest in doing dance or gymnastics any longer. She didn't care for dresses so much, and furthermore she wanted to take a Martial Arts class. When she had asked for the 85th time, I decided to take her to an intro class -- and Quincy as well, since Martial Arts seemed to be right up her ally. Both girls took their spots in back of the taekwando studio, following the more experienced kids. They did a series of kicks and punches and blocks. They ran around the room, did sit-ups, jumping jacks and some intense poses. About 3/4 of the way through class, during a challenging 'horse stance', Quincy turned to me with a look that conveyed one thing and one thing only: "This sucks." Peyton, on the other hand, had a grand time and told me after class that she for sure wanted to join. I couldn't get Quincy out the door fast enough as she announced repeatedly how thoroughly unenjoyable she found taekwando to be. Quinny decided she wanted to continue with gymnastics, and wanted the fanciest leotard and matching hair bow she could find to wear to class...

Okay, that was a switch.

Brooklyn, "the baby," seems to have learned in-utero that the squeaky wheel gets the most attention, juice, toys, and instant reactions. She arrived in the world with an uncanny ability, despite her size, to command the attention of everybody around her. She didn't get the memo that she's the youngest of three children, and therefore has to be patient for her turn. She expects nothing less than immediate service, which I find amusing and cruel, as I had always heard that the third child is the most flexible. Brooklyn likes to dress up as well, but not in princess clothes, per se. She begins with a bathing suit, then dons tights, a shirt (or two) and then a dress. Depending on if she has access, she will also put on shoes (often on the wrong feet) and sunglasses. She is opinionated and impatient with whomever dares to disagree or cross her. But she is also big-hearted and sensitive.



These are my little girls. They are growing and changing at light speed. They are deciding who they want to be, and who they don't want to be. I watch them with awe.