I recall the day when I first held my baby, two arms carefully cradling her
7-pound 10-ounce body. I also have fond memories of small planes, actually
baby-food-filled spoons, zooming down to the landing strip in Jessie’s
mouth. Beneath my feet, the Cheerios my toddler threw on the floor, missed
by the dog but not my shoe, crunched into dust. Diapers, baby teeth, ear
infections, the list goes on. But somehow Jessie grew from baby to a
9-year-old tween. Last Sunday, she wore her mom’s shoes to church. What’s
going on here? The teenage years are still far away, aren’t they?
I’ve reached the conclusion that Jessie will be a teenager before I know
it. I haven’t come to terms with it, just reached the conclusion. Aside
from her shoe size, there have been other signs. Dress hems that once
looked up to Jessie’s knees now peer down at them. Two new sweat suits
lasted only one school year before Jessie was ready to jog in flood waters.
Even our 1-year-old dog, Sadie, is not helping matters. A few days ago,
Jessie dressed Sadie in the “Daddy’s Little Girl” top that she’d outgrown.
I liked it better on Jessie.
To date, I’ve been able to keep Jessie’s ears hole-free. Her stick-on
earrings look beautiful, though. She gets excited when store ads come with
perfume samples. When she pulls open the sticky paper tab and shoves it
under my nose, I take a whiff and wrinkle my face. Jessie laughs and
quickly holds another sample to my nose, followed by more giggles.
The way I see it, or smell it, my girl is beautiful without earrings or
perfume. She doesn’t need makeup either. She can shoot hoops, catch balls
or swing a tennis racquet without any of that stuff. So far, Jessie has
used minimal makeup – a touch of blush, a little lipstick or lip gloss and
a smidgeon of eye shadow. Once, my wife, Mattie, put a little mascara on
Jessie’s lashes. However, change is in the air. I can smell it – unless the
store samples messed up my olfactory glands. No, actually, Jessie showed me
this morning over breakfast.
Prior to eating (Why didn’t I get breakfast ready quicker?), Mattie and
Jessie were in the bathroom playing with makeup. When I sat down
to eat my blueberry muffins, I looked across the table at my beautiful
wife. My, I married well. Then I glanced toward Jessie’s chair and saw – a
teenager. “Jessie, we can’t skip the tween years.” Jessie had just put on
her own mascara for the first time. She was wearing lipstick, too.
I wanted to grab the box of Cheerios and ask if Jessie would like to throw
some on the floor. Before I could react, though, she informed me, “Momma
says I can put on my own mascara.”
I voiced my concern that she’s too young. What if the eyelash brush hits
her pupil? I’m barely ready for tween Jessie, much less teenage Jessie.
Maybe it’s time to get her perspective.
Jessie, Age 9 :
“I wear makeup all the time. My mom gives me her old makeup. I have very
long lashes, so mascara looks good on me. My teachers are always
commenting on my long eyelashes. I do not see why my dad is so against
makeup. Is he afraid that I will poke myself in the eye? I am not a
baby anymore. I showed him how I put it on. Did that help? I do not
know. What I do know is that as I get older I will get more
responsibilities. I am getting older now. My dad understands.”
Later that same Saturday, Jessie, already having reapplied her mascara
once, sat in the hallway and talked to her dog. “Sadie, you’re too young
for mascara. You have to wait until you’re two.”
And I thought I was ill-prepared for my daughter to wear mascara. I’m not
ready for my daughter to look like a teenager, much less the dog!
But whether Jessie’s makeup includes lipstick, eye shadow and mascara or no
makeup at all, one thing is certain — ‘tween daughter and dad, I love my
girl and my girl loves me. Until next month, remember to cherish the
moments.
