I have alluded to it in the past; My daughter knows and seems pretty happy that her dad is a little different. It started small - I would do her makeup and hair for a ballet recital (and watch the other moms mouths gape), I taught her to walk in heels at age 9 by taking her to DSW where we found pairs that fit us both and had a ball, I would take her shopping and find the cutest stuff. You know, just girly stuff. Finally one day, I was wearing my guy's skinny jeans and a guy's sweater, heading off to work one day and she kinda squealed, hugged me, and said, "You look so cute and girly!" That was followed by some probing questions, some explanations, and reinforcement from her that she had no problems with it.
Fast-forward a year or so. We have had a few girly days at home, and I did take her dressed to DSW once, but today was our first girly shopping trip. I let her help pick out my outfit. She must have picked up a bit of my taste in clothing, because she chose one of my favorite tops, dark skinny jeans, and a black shrug. I added the pearls and some flats and the outfit was complete.
We slept in a bit as she had the day off from school. I did my makeup as she was getting dressed and having breakfast. I went with my usual understated (OK, call a spade a spade - boring) makeup, brushed out my wig, spritzed a bit of my current favorite perfume (Pure by DKNY) and we were off.
Our first stop was the new Ulta where many of my old friends (and some great new ones!) now work. I chatted with a woman that is so familiar to me that I just know that I have seen somewhere else. She had a huge smile, so I'm sure she knows exactly where she knows me from, she was just making me squirm. It'll come to me. Anyway, my friend came in and almost passed me by, asking if I needed help. I turned towards her and her eyes brightened. She said, "I wondered if that were you. There's not that many tall, skinny, gorgeous brunettes in Utah - especially with a butt that makes me wish I had skipped the last few breakfasts." I gave her a hug and introduced my daughter to her. We chatted for awhile about some pictures she had just taken. She said, "I just had some bourgeois pictures done." I asked her what she meant, and she said that she was wearing nothing but her last triathlon medal. I smiled inside, told myself not to correct her (it's boudoir pictures
She then took us over to introduce us to a charming red-haired British woman. And when I say red, I don't mean a color found in nature. I mean Coca-Cola red. On her, it looked incredible! My friend asked us what we were doing. I said, "Oh, you know; Scientists have said that it is important for fathers and daughters to have proper bonding times, and during those times to do the things that daughters enjoy. Well, she likes to get dressed up and go shopping. Who am I to argue with science?" They laughed, and we talked some more. The red-head asked me how I got my fantastic shape. Before I could answer with my usual self-deprecating comment, my friend broke in with, "You'd think he starved himself, but he has a freaky metabolism or something. Yeah. Eats anything and she doesn't gain a pound." Red said that that just wasn't right, and that her boyfriend was 6' 1" and was about as skinny as me. She said he sometimes stole her skinny jeans, but since her butt was so big, they were kinda baggy. She asked what kind of jeans I had since they fit me so well. I told her they were Silvers. We then talked about our favorite jeans, and where to get them, and more girl-chat for a bit since the store was very slow.
Seeing that my daughter was bored, the girls took her over and made her feel like she was center-stage, showing her some cute makeup, letting her try perfumes, etc. It was nice for her to feel special, and I thanked them for having fun with us. They said makeup was fun or they wouldn't be doing this. I agreed that makeup was indeed a blast, and I was sure that my daughter was going to have fun with it in the future. They both turned to her and said, "You are so lucky to have a dad that understands all of this stuff and has so much fun. That's rare." She shyly agreed.
They then asked us what we were shopping for. I told them of some cute tan cords I saw at WH|BM. Red said, "You are so cool! Do you and your wife share clothes? I told her that we could share tops - usually women's small or medium. "I'm sure" she said, "You're a tiny little thing!" but we were different sizes for pants and skirts. She asked, "What are you, like a 2?" My friend broke in, "Heck no! He's a 0 or a 00!" Red looked amazed. "Yeah. Annoying, isn't it?" my friend added. Red said, "You know, I don't usually hate people when I first meet them, but in your case, I'll make an exception." We laughed and I explained that no hips equalled a zero, and no butt equalled another zero, so the size made perfect sense.
Well, I had had a wonderful time introducing my daughter to friends, but it was time to get shopping. There was clothes to be tried on, and shoes to be worn. We left with a promise to return later to show them what we found. I'll go forward with that in my next post.
Kathi
If you don't like the way I'm livin', you just leave this long haired country girl alone:
Originally Posted by MissMarcie
