Do Princesses wear Hiking Boots

This title is NOT an original thought.  It comes from this great book our daughter received from her grandparents this past Christmas.  Oh the dilemma of being a princess but also wanting to play in the mud.  It is the perfect book for my daughter.  She is the epitome of this book. 

 

 

When I was a little girl I was a huge tomboy.  Not a shock to many I know.  I had two brothers and I liked to do the things the boys did.  I even remember trying to go the bathroom like them.  That did not end so well.  So I was the only girl with two brothers and I never felt like my parents would want me to be any different.  I never felt that I should be more girly (my mom did want me to brush my hair a little more - understandably).  But they really let me be who I was.  Now, I am not saying I NEVER cared about girl things but I have always been a girl that would much rather do things outdoors than go shopping.  I get more excited about a new hiking trail or adventure spot than a new pair of shoes. 

 

My parents really let me be who I was and I felt (and still do feel) comfortable in my own skin.  Until my dad gave me a big push in 6th grade.  I had basically spent my summer reading books on a beat up chair in our living room and eating way too many raisinets (remember those!).  When my dad told me (yes, I am telling the world dad!)  "You can't just sit around and read all the time....you need to get involved in an activity, you have to do something."  As much as I liked hanging out and doing things with my brothers, I was not super excited about sports. I had tried many and was just not very interested, but since I HAD to get involved in something I decided to try to swimming again. 

 

Some of you know how that went.  You know because you swam with me on high school or club swim team, or even were team mates with me on our college swim team (GO PANTHERS!).  I fell in love with the sport of swimming.  It taught me discipline.  It taught me how to win gracefully and lose even more gracefully.  It taught me how to lead and how to be a good teammate.  It allowed me to be an individual and a member of a team.  My friends were swimmers, my husband was a swimmer.  The impacts of "not sitting around and reading all the time but doing something" were so positive in my life.  That push from my dad, even though it kind of sounded horrible at the time, was one of the best pushes he could have given me. 

 

And that is the dilemma of parenting isn't it.  When do you push your kids and when do you let them be comfortable where they are at.  I am struggling right now with my oldest and that very thought right now.  She is six and pretty introverted.  If she doesn't know kids she prefers to play on her own and watch them play at first.  I struggle with knowing when I should let her be who she is, be shy, be introverted and open up in her own time and knowing when its time to give her a little "push" to go and play with the other kids, who usually are asking her constantly to play with them.   She can be standoffish at first and many girls have asked me "why doesn't Andie want to play with me" but I know she is feeling unsure of how to make friends.  That first step intimidates her.  When do I let her be shy and when do I "push" so she learns the valuable skill of making friends?

 

That is the big battle going on in my mommy mind right now.  A little battle has just been called at a cease fire in our home. It is the battle that goes with the title of this post.   It is the battle of the shoes, but this battle also begs the question, "when do you let your child be who they are and when do you push for what you think will be best for them". 

 

  My daughter announced as soon as the weather turned nice that she would not be wearing pants or shorts anymore....just skirts and dresses.  We compromised on skorts or dresses with shorts (since we don't always play like a princess) and all seemed happy with it.  Then the heals came out.  My 6 year old loves her heals.  The more elaborate and the higher the better.  She wants to wear them everywhere, whether that is the pool, park, shopping, church, or hiking.  I drew the line at hiking.  And that is where the battle ensued.  For the past few months my daughter and I battled in the hallway before heading out on hikes.  Some of our hikes take us through creeks, over trees, in the woods.  She is an adventuresome spirit.  She loves a good climbing tree and a good creek to stomp in, she just wants to do it in heels.  When I had let her hike in high heels in the past, she inevitably would complain that her feet hurt and I would think she had naturally learned her lesson and the battle would be over, but the next time we would be getting ready for a hike the battle always ensued once more. 

 

And then our idea man (my husband) came up with one of his greatest ideas.  Why don't you put glitter on a pair of comfy tennis shoes.  A-HA!!  And so our glitterized, princess hiking shoes were in the works.

 

First, we found a pair of shoes at goodwill.  Thank you mom (Nana) for purchasing - she wanted in on the project as well.  They were $3.  Not bad and in great shape.  You can see I already removed one of the laces and taped one of them before I remembered to take a picture.

 

 

Next stop Hobby lobby for glitter and fabric glue (since they are canvas - I saw where you could use Mod Podge if you did not have fabric as a material to work with though).

 

Some glue and glitter and a day to dry.....

 

 

 

 

And I have one happy princess on my hands, ready to go hiking.....

 

 

So....do princesses wear hiking boots?  This one will if you add some pink sparkles to them!