Staying Positive

Loving me some of this girl. She is the PB to my jelly. She's off to her dad's and looking oh so cute. She looked in the mirror before leaving the house and said, " Could I be and prettier? No, I don't think so."  Now, this is a big deal. The last few months this little gal has been really hard on herself. She has said incredibly negative things about herself both physically and mentally. It's heartbreaking to hear your tiny person, who you consider to be nothing less than perfect, say awful things and have a bad self esteem. She has said that she's ugly, stupid, fat, that no one likes her, everything is always her fault, she can't think of anything but bad thoughts, etc. We've been working on positive affirmations and gestures toward ourselves and others. So when I hear her say these things to herself and smile pretty in the mirror, I smile too. This is a huge deal because the last thing I want is for her to grow up thinking down about herself. I was really concerned about this, but after talking to several parents with daughters the same age, I have realized that it is probably an age thing more than a personal issue she might have. They have all said their daughters are and have been doing and saying the same things. That's sad but also relieving to know that it is probably a phase. It's hard, just because I see her as this perfect person doesn't mean that she will. I don't ever want to discount the way she feels about herself. I don't want to throw back a loose, " But honey you are beautiful. I think you're perfect." and think she'll see herself the way I do. I know from personal experience, that is not how it works. So we work really hard on saying and being and doing positive things for ourselves and each other. We are beautiful! We are strong! We are successful! We love ourselves! We love each other! We will survive! I love my eyes! I love my smile! I love my hair! I love my tummy! I love my bum! I love myself completely! 

You know - that kind of stuff. :)