The Best of Both Worlds

I am thrilled to have Christina guest posting while I am away. She is an AWESOME photographer (as can be seen here when she took our pictures back in May and pretty much every day on her blog!) and a truly loving mother, wife and friend. Please make her feel welcome in my absence!

Hey there! I’m Christina, and I’m tickled pink to be here!
It’s been several months now since Elaine became the first bloggy friend I ever met IRL. And now here I am, commemorating another bloggy milestone with her: my first ever guest post! I have to admit, I was kinda hoping today would also mark the first time I hitched a ride to an awesome Sonoma vacation, but hey, not all things are meant to be. ;o)

Anyway, as the mother of two (cute!) young sons, Elaine knows all about snips, snails and puppy dog tails – you know, the things rough and tumble little boys thrive on.

I too have a growing familiarity with such things. But no, I don’t have a son.
I have just one daughter, and “Princess” could be her middle name. She has a collection of at least a dozen purses (and yes, they all get used), and she’s all about playing Little Mommy. A dab of my lip balm is enough to send her over the moon with joy. The drawers of her dresser are stuffed with adorable shorts that never see the light of day, as she instead chooses the same few “boo-full” dresses day after day. She can name every single Disney princess, despite having seen none of the movies. She is the ultimate girly girl.

But she’s not ALL girly girl.

Oh no, that’s just half of my girl.

The other half is wild and crazy tomboy. Whacking things with sticks brings her endless joy. Our basket of trucks sees at least as much action as the basket of doll clothes. Handy Manny is her favorite show, and she “fixes” everything she encounters (there’s a reason that’s in quotes…don’t be surprised if your belongings don’t work quite as well once she’s done “fixing” them!). She is unbelievably tough, barely batting an eye at the blood oozing down her leg following one of her daredevil stunts gone wrong.

Sugar and spice….snips snails and puppy dog tails – she’s got it all!

This series of photos from a few days ago sums her up just about perfectly.

As she danced around the yard in her frilly pink tutu, a pink fairy wand in her outstretched hand, ideas of the perfect princess portrait began to dance through my mind.

Of course, she had other ideas. “I’m Handy Nadia” she delared, and she settled down with her tools to “fix” the mirror. Apparently she’s never heard the phrase “if it aint broke, don’t fix it.”

I never quite got my elegant princess pose. But ya know, I like this way better. This is HER!

She gives me the best of both worlds. I get to experience both the joy of a girly girl and the fun of a tomboy, all wrapped up in one special little gal. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I’ve learned something from her foot-in-both-worlds personality, too. Life’s not black and white. It’s not always either/or choices. Sometimes, it’s okay to say “I want both!”

So when Thanksgiving rolls around (yeah, I know it’s still over a month away…but I was thinking about my menu today!) and someone asks “pumpkin or pecan?” I’m gonna say “both!”….and then I’ll snuggle up next to my girly little tomboy to share a plate of pie.

How ’bout you?