Bathing Beauty

Supposedly, there are people in the world who will tell you that that there are no inherent differences between boys and girls. Probably I have met some of these people myself and just never bothered to ascertain their opinion on this subject. But I am here to tell you that Meg is a girl.

Today while we were at Target, I stopped our cart near the toddler girls' bathing suit rack. I have been looking for a bathing suit for Meg for a while, casually debating with myself about how much money to spend, what kind of quality to look for, etc. At Target, as you may know, the clothing quality may be debatable, but the prices are not bad. All the little girls' suits were $10. I stood there for a moment, thinking, "It would be one thing if we were pool rats who would be wearing suits every day this summer, but we're not. We'll be lucky if we go swimming three or four times before she outgrows this year's suit."

Deciding that in our situation a Target-quality suit would be just fine, I began to examine my options more closely. I pulled a few pieces off the rack to see whether Meg might need an 18-month or a 24-month. I came across a lime green number with bright pink and purple flowers all over it and passed right over it the first time. Then I came back to it and pulled it off the rack. Instantly, Meg's little hands shot up to reach for it. "This one?" I said. "You want this one?" The continued stretching and reaching convinced me that, yes, this was her top choice.

Hmmm, I thought, it looks a little bit like a 1960's shower curtain, but I'll bet it's one of those things that's cuter on the baby than on the hanger. In fact, the pattern was growing on me. And I liked the fact that it had nice wide straps. And they had one in 24-months, which looked like it would be just right for Meg. So I threw it in the cart.

Now who but a very girly little girl would be drawn to a flowery suit in neon greens and pinks--at 18 months of age??!

After Meg's nap today, I unpacked the shopping bags and handed Meg her suit. Her eyes glowed, and she immediately started trying to pull it over her head. "Would you like to put it on?" I asked. She screeched with delight and ran into my arms to have her clothes removed. She's been wearing the new suit ever since. And I was right--it's way cuter on her than it was in the store. I can't wait to take her swimming in it...