Women's AND Men's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Raise your hand if, when you got your first period, your mother threw a box of Kotex Pads at you and grunted, “Now you’re a woman!” while doing the laundry.  Oh wait, that was ME!

Guess what!  I was so very let down by my mother’s response to SUCH an important event in my life I decided that, when I had girls,  I  would CELEBRATE that milestone with them!    So……….Starting with Natasha, I began a tradition called “Women’s Day” (I got the idea from The Cosby Show)! 

What’s “Women’s Day”.........?  When one of my girls gets her period,  not only does she know what’s happening (we’ve talked about it a LOT prior to) she gets to CELEBRATE it!  She gets to choose the activity (movie, restaurant, arcade, pedicures, etc) that we do together. 

I have to say that I HAVE LOVED DOING WOMEN’S DAY WITH MY DAUGHTERS!!!!!!!!!! 

Here’s a twist………..Several months back, when we were all discussing this event, Moses asked, “What about me?”  Oh my GOSH, I had NEVER thought about BOYS! 

So, I said to him (and to Malick),  “You guys will have “Man’s Day” with Dad when you turn 13 years old!”   

Here’s the thing……….There are many cultures that honor certain milestones in children’s lives.  Apart from some religious ceremonies, our culture really drops the ball in that department.

I think it would be great if we could ALL implement some kind of ‘coming of age’ ceremony into our children’s lives at the beginning of young adulthood.  It’s such a special time and it’s a sweet opportunity to connect with your child on a different level.

For Maeve’s “Women’s Day” today she asked if we could go see the movie “Frozen” and then have supper at a restaurant.  So………..We did!  During that time, I told her:  “You are beautiful and so very kind and amazingly artistic and you have some terrific character qualities such as her capacity to truly care for others and to always be on the look out for how she can help do the next thing.”  We talked about how at this age, boys and girls are all so self conscious (too developed/not developed enough) and are trying on all sorts of personas in a quest to figure our exactly who they are, etc.  It’s a fun time of exploration and discovery.  This mindset is important to share with your daughter/son at this juncture because this stage can feel very overwhelming and intimidating. 

Viva La Women’s AND Men’s Day!