Just another 20-something

Celebrating the legacy of the first 'teacher'

2009-05-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

It’s almost as if everything that once was, happens all over again…only with different players.

As I child I remember sitting in the bathroom mesmerized by my mother’s beauty. I would sit on the edge of the tub and watch her flawlessly apply her make-up.

This morning, I saw that same picture – only this time my daughter watched me in wonderment.

She scurried behind me as I walked into the bathroom. Reaching for her stepstool, my daughter excitedly proclaimed, “Mommy I would just like to watch. I promise I won’t touch anything.”

Perched right next to me, she stared in awe as I began washing my face and applying my make-up. She studied my every move, anxiously anticipating the next step.

She even mimicked my style of make-up application and occasionally she asked, “Mommy, why do you do that?”

I chuckled, thinking back some twenty years ago when I – in the same manner as my daughter - methodically watched my mother.

I would study my mother’s moves. I made it a science to memorize the way she evenly blended her foundation to the way she held her lips when she applied lipstick.

Each time I watched her, I remember praying with all my might that my mother would put some make-up on me too. And without fail, at the end of each “lesson,” my mother would put just a touch of red lipstick on my lips.

Remembering how I felt when my mom gave me lipstick, it was only natural that this morning, I too, put just a touch of copper lipstick on my daughter’s lips. I watched her grin from ear-to-ear with pride.

As Mother’s Day approaches, this morning’s bit of déjà vu reminded me that a mother is a child’s first role model.

When in the womb, the first voice a child hears is her mothers, one of the first faces a child sees is her mother’s – it’s a face that she soon associates with love and protection.

Mothers mold and shape our future doctors, lawyers, teachers and presidents with constant lessons.

For even when a mother is not trying to “teach,” she winds up teaching, guiding and nurturing. Everyday tasks become another one of life’s all-important lessons – typically a lesson that has been handed down from one mother to the next.

Whether a lesson on make-up application or properly budgeting finances, a mother is the first teacher. She learns from her first teacher who learned from her first teacher, who watched her first teacher, and so on, creating a legacy of strong women.

And while everyday is a day to celebrate mothers, let this May 10 be a special day of celebration, acknowledging the women who have taught and given you so much so that you can in turn do the same.

My mother often watches me interact with my daughter and says, “Oh I can’t wait to see the two of you when she turns sixteen.”

She finds it refreshing to be able to utter those words. After all, my grandmother told her those same words when I was just a child.

She's Almost Here!

2009-02-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

My 3-year-old daughter is at that stage where princesses and Barbie’s are the greatest!

In fact, this past Christmas, when asked what she wanted, her reply was simple: “A princess dress, a tiara and a wand, oh and some lip gloss,” she would say as she beamed from ear to ear.

Just last week, she was on the verge of a meltdown when the thought of not getting that “extra special Princess Belle toothpaste” crossed her mind. “But Mommy, I really, really, really need it. I just have to have it because it’s princess toothpaste!” she cried.

Yes, she’s wafted toward the innocence fairytale land … BIG TIME!

I have only one reservation with this newfound admiration for all things princess and Barbie: the lack of a strong African American presence.

Peruse any toy store aisle and you’ll find loads of Caucasian princesses – Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Belle and Ariel – with a sprinkle of color in Pocahantas, Mulan and Jasmine from Disney’s Aladdin.

Barbie is no different – you’ll a find a few African American Barbie dolls, yet the variety just isn’t there. And often times when it is, it comes with a steeper price tag.

Nonetheless, I give in. My daughter’s room is complete with tons of the Latina Dora the Explorer and African American Barbie Dolls – with a sprinkle of Caucasian Barbie dolls. ☺

Don’t get my wrong, I’m all for diversity. I embrace diversity and share an appreciation for other races and cultures with my daughter. My husband and I pride ourselves on being culturally diverse and sensitive people. But there’s nothing like appreciating, identifying with and having a love for your own.

I want my daughter to walk down a toy store aisle, see a Black princess and say, “Mommy, she’s pretty,” just as she did a few weeks ago when she saw a White Barbie doll.

Well, it won’t be long before that can be a reality.

This past Monday, Disney unveiled Princess Tiana, the company’s first African American princess.

That’s right, Princess Tiana is almost here!!! There have been rumors and talk about Tiana for years. And truthfully, she’s been in the making, but Monday’s New York unveiling made it official.

Princess Tiana’s story is set to hit the big screen later this year. The animated musical “The Princess and the Frog,” will tell her story and feature Anika Noni Rose, Tony-award winner and “Dreamgirls” actress, as the voice of Tiana and Oprah Winfrey as the voice of Tiana’s mother.

Princess Tiana merchandise is set to emerge in retail stores nationwide by fall.

Lord knows I can’t wait; I’m pumped about Princess Tiana’s pending arrival. Seeing as how I don’t see an end to my daughter’s “all things princess stage” any time soon, knowing that there’s a princess with whom she can identify makes her love for the fairytale characters that much sweeter.

Here we go...

2008-10-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

The term "20-something" what does it really mean?

It's that stage in life where you've learned a bit and have had a handful of experiences, but recognize there are still so many more that await you.

By now, we've learned that a night of hanging with friends .... just isn't the same as it was during college. This time we recognize that sleeping in or skipping that 8 a.m. lecture, just won't work because bills have to be paid. (Lol - am I telling on myself?)

In fact, those nights have become - or are on their way to becoming - a mere distant memory. Hanging out has been reserved to the typically pre-scheduled girls' or guys' night out, as we're entranced in a budding career.

A "20-something" is at the point where life has some meaning (hopefully), yet the complexities of life may not have been fully revealed.

For many of us, we're at that stage where - if we haven't yet - settling down is either becoming important or something that we're trying to run far, far away from. And for those of us who are married, we're basking in the meaning of "for better or worse" - let's just say, we're learning what marriage is all about.

Then comes children.

Some welcome the idea of children, while again there are a select group who are running far, far away from the idea. Yet and still, many of us already have those wonderful "bundles of joys" and we're learning - every single, solitary day - just what our parents went through.

With this new blog, I hope to explore the intricacies of a 20-something! From the ups and downs - to the twists and turns. Okay, really, I hoping to learn that my crazy life isn't abnormal.

I hoping that through this blog, I'll get the revelation that I'm just like many of peers. I've learned somethings and I've experienced many things, but so many more await me as I travel through this time as "Just another 20-something."