What I Want My Daughter To Know

If These Heels Could Talk they would say, "being a woman isn’t always easy but it is all I have ever been so I don't know how to be anything else."

My daughter is growing up to be a strong beautiful woman.  She is nothing like I was at her age. She is much more reserved and makes better decisions than I did.  (Thank God)  I am very blessed.

I try to be very honest with my children about some of the decisions (good and bad) that I have made in my lifetime. I tell them that I am neither proud nor ashamed at some of the less than desirable choices that I made but thought were awesome at the moment.  I let them know that bad choices always have even worse consequences and when you make a bad choice you better  be prepared for the consequence to follow, and don't even think about pissing and moaning about anything,  remember it was your choice.

Girls can be so dramatic and in my factual opinion are more difficult to raise. Boys seem to just go with the flow most of the times.  Girls.... hmmm not so much. I am glad that I have a daughter and two boys and I wouldn't trade it for all the gold in California.  There are plenty of moments when I get to educate them on the differences in boys and girls.  We are equal as human beings but we are not the same. And when people try to say that there shouldn't be any difference in a man and woman, well it kind of peeves me a slight bit. 

Yes, I believe that there are some things that a woman can do that a man does and vice versa. I am not talking about responsibilities. I am speaking more about attributes. The simple fact is that WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT FROM MEN. We look different, we smell different, we think different, we act different and we feel different.   So with all that being said I came up with my own little (not that little) list of the things that I want my daughter to know. Most of them I have already told her and continue to tell her when the opportunity presents itself. 

Now just as with anything else that I write about, this is me... These are my thoughts. And these thoughts come from experiences, tears, laughter, joy and pain.  And I share them with her so that she may have less of the tears and pain and more of the joy and laughter.

          1.      Be God-Fearing. Pray daily. Forgive often.

 

2.      Waiting until you are married to give up the goods is the RIGHT and the BEST thing to do.  Be the exception rather than the norm.  What you have to offer is special and once you give it away it you can't get it back.

3.      If you do happen to decide to not wait until marriage make damn sure that the person you are with is worth what you are giving.  Again, you can't get it back. Don't give it to a loser.

4.      Yes bad boys will appear to be more attractive, interesting and exciting.  But they are called bad boys for a reason. Steer clear and embrace the nice guy.  Remember my previous statement about bad decisions?  Enough said……I missed a lot of long stem rose oppurtunities because I didn’t like the nice guy.

5.      Never resent the fact that you are a woman.  We give birth to Kings, Queens, Star Quarterbacks, Third Grade Spelling Bee Champs and Olympians. That is pretty darn cool.  No man will ever get to experience that feeling. Without Mary we would not have Jesus.

6.      Never date anyone that you wouldn’t want to marry. That doesn’t mean that the person you are dating you will marry. It means date someone with the qualities that you would want in a partner. You never know who you may fall in love with.

7.      Jealousy is an awful trait to have. It is even worse to be jealous of other beautiful women. There will always be another woman that is more beautiful, weigh less, have more money, be in better shape, etc.... Be happy for them and never compare yourself to them.  Jealousy steals you of your joy. The time you spend focusing on what they have, you could be working on your own self.

8.      Knowledge is power.  Learn something new every day.  Get an education.  And if you become a mother, prepare to educate. 

9.      If you settle for trailer trash, then you will end up with trailer trash.  In other words set goals and high expectations for yourself, but don’t be too hard on yourself.

10.  Take pride in your appearance. Do it for yourself first and foremost.  You will be amazed at how high your self esteem will be simply by carrying yourself with confidence.  Makeup may not be necessary (if you have natural beauty), but brushing your hair and teeth are necessary. 

11.  It is perfectly fine to live with a servant attitude and not think of it as you are a "doormat" in any relationship / friendship.  If you go through life with the “what’s in it for me attitude”, you will miss many opportunities to be blessed and to be a blessing.

12.  Help someone that you know can never repay you.

13.  Be Bold. Be Beautiful. Be Brave. Be Confident.

14.  Waiting for a man to understand all of your feelings is foolish. A man will never be able to understand all the reasons you cry.  Don’t get mad when he doesn’t understand, just appreciate that he is trying to understand. 

15.  Pick a career for the love of that career and not the money that you will make.  If you pick it for the money you will end up empty and miserable.

16.  Travel the world. Never let fear be the reason someone else has your window seat to the world.

17.  Not every person that you encounter in this lifetime will like you even if you are as sweet as Mother Theresa. That is okay. Everyone doesn’t have to like you, just be kind and keep moving.

18.  There are leaders and there are followers. If you are the leader, be a strong leader and set great examples. If you are a follower make sure you have a strong leader that is setting great examples.

19.  No matter what you are doing, give 100%.  Whether it is cleaning toilets, or polishing gold….. Treat all your responsibilities as if they are royalty.

20.  A woman can NEVER have too many pair of shoes, preferably HIGH HEELS. I DON’T CARE WHAT ANYONE TELLS YOU.