"Why didn't you sleep well?" I thought I knew this answer.
"You know how I can't sleep without Dora." The stuffed Explorer with an over-sized head was as big as Alice when she entered our family five years ago. "Some of the girls made fun of her, because it's a baby show. So I just put her away." Alice tucked her head in her arms, and the tears began.
It broke my heart to see my sweet angel struggling with this awkward stage of childhood. So what do I say now? Encourage her to let go of her "lovie" and avoid being tagged as that "weird girl" who still loves Dora? No mother wants her child to be a social outcast. Or should I advise her to stay true to herself no matter what anyone else says? She DOES still love Dora.
I cheated and did both.
"You should never change who you are just to please someone else." Words I wish hadn't taken me 38 plus years to internalize. "But the next time you go to a sleepover, you don't have to take Dora. You could take Hello Kitty." (Whom I understand is still cool in the eight-year-old scene and also has an unusually large head.)
Without missing a beat, my wise baby girl replied, "No, I'd just rather spend the night with someone who loves Dora, too."
And the student becomes the teacher.
