I firmly believe you can have cute purple nails, lipstick and mascara, do you hair, wear high heels and still kick ass and take names.

I’m always a little shocked at the feedback others feel free to give regarding parenting choices. Especially about something as non-controversial (or so I thought) as painting a little girls nails.

For the record Sky is a girl. She loves all things girly. Bring on the princess dresses and sparkle. The more pink or purple the polish the better. I don’t feel the need to change her love of all things girly.

She also loves dumping buckets of dirt on her head, is willing to touch bugs/worms/and road kill (yuck), and getting her hands greasy and dirty in the garage with Daddy.

She’s the perfect mix of girly yet let’s get dirty and play rough and tumble.

Rather than try and raise a gender neutral child (as has been suggested several times) I want Sky to know that yes you are a girl. Yes, the world (speaking in generalizations) will at times think things about you because you are a girl. You will be told what you can and can’t do because you are a girl. Some men will view you a certain way, and treat you a certain way…because you are a girl.

Rather than viewing that as a negative, or pretending it doesn’t happen, I’m going to teach her just how powerful that actually makes her. She will know she absolutely can do anything she wants, not because she’s a girl, but because she’s smart, and determined, and she is capable of learning anything, doing anything, accomplishing anything, and impacting how people view her.

If she wants to wear sparkly purple polish and a tutu while working on an engine, or shooting a bb gun, then gosh darn it that is exactly what she will do. And, I’ll be the one gladly painting those nails of hers any shade of girly she wants.

Live like a girl Sky…live like the strong, smart, beautiful girl you are!