Why My Girls Don’t Wear Hair Bows

Once upon a time, I was a young mom to the most amazingly gorgeous little brown-eyed baby. She was my heart and soul.

Bath times were followed by finding the perfect outfit for my princess. Once we found just the right outfit, we’d add the icing.

From the day my first-born was brought into this world, she always wore a hair bow, each perfectly created to match a specific outfit in her closet. This was back before big, boutique bows were in. Most baby girls simply wore measly little bows, no bigger than a Tootsie Roll, attached to a lace headband, that had been bought from (GASP!) Wal*Mart.

Everywhere we went, people commented on her custom-made hair bows. A local man even called her “Satellite Baby” . He said her bows reminded him of the HUGE satellite dishes that took over people’s backyards in the 80’s and 90’s.

I just smiled and reveled in the comments.

Flash forward to 2 more babies, 19 bajillion diaper changes, 2,487 sleepless nights and 11 years later. My girls wear a hair bow maybe twice a year. Family picture days, to be exact..

And you know what?

I’m finally okay with that.

In fact, I kind of enjoy the fact that the hundreds of dollars I’ve invested in hair bows now sit, untouched, in their bedrooms. Call me crazy. Call me lazy, unkempt, an unfit mother, whatever the heck it is that you want to call me. I don’t care. (In fact, I can’t even hear what you’re calling me, so make it good!)

The fact that my strong-willed, mind-of-their-own, half-grown babies have now decided that they don’t need to wear a hair bow to be beautiful….It makes me smile. It makes this mama proud to know that they do not feel the need to fit in with the other girls, who continue to allow their mothers to put a quarter-pound bow on their already perfect little heads. They know that they are perfectly imperfect and they are okay with that.

I’m not going to lie.

It was hard for me to swallow the fact that my babies didn’t want to wear a badge of honor. After all, a mom is only as good as the size of her daughter’s bow, right? But it wasn’t hard to see that the mounds of ribbon and ruffles I applied was simply distracting the world from my child’s natural beauty.

My girls know what they want and what they don’t want. And who am I to try to change their precious little minds? Once I finally got it through my thick skull that our hair bow days are probably over, I took a step back and saw all the adults who have not yet learned what my young daughters already know: that their beauty comes from the inside.

The moms in the pick-up line at school, wearing sky-high heels, perfectly plump red lips and dressed to perfection, all in hopes of approval.

The moms, who really just want love and adoration, seeking it out by hoping someone will notice just how “perfect” they are and want their friendships.

The moms who would never dare let their child out of the house in jean shorts, hot pink cowgirl boots and a slightly stained Justice soccer shirt.

The moms who spend months planning the perfect Halloween costume for their kids, so they’ll get the most “likes” when they post their photos of Facebook.

The mom who strives to have the “Best Dressed” first grader.

The mom who wants everyone to believe that they are the perfect family because her daughter is always dressed to a “T” and has perfect waterfall braids in her hair.

I don’t want my girls to grow into “these” moms. These moms could learn a thing or two from my little rug rats. We all know where true beauty comes from, but why do we still insist on conforming our children, by focusing on what we put on our bodies, instead of what we have on the inside to offer the world?

I don’t know about you, but I love the fact that I have 2 completely imperfect yet gorgeous daughters. They know they don’t have to be in the nicest clothes that money can buy. They have something that money can’t buy.

Confidence, in who they are, not in who I want them to be.

And that, my friends, is worth a whole-helluva lot.

Next time you get your child dressed, dress her up in compliments, instead of worrying about what accessories would look best with her outfit. Maybe it will be then that your little princess will shine, brighter than any pink glittery bow ever could.