Nail Polish, Pink Boots, and Teacups

The other day, Charlotte and Karen decided to paint their nails.

Luke wanted in.

Charlotte sat down on the bed and extended her legs, placing her feet on top of the old towel used for this purpose.  Luke sat right next to her, extended his legs, and asked, “Paint my nails?”

Karen gave them a choice of three colors – purple, beige (aka “nude”), or red.

Luke chose red.  Actually, he chose “royal red.”  And he opted to have his toenails and fingernails painted.  He was thrilled.  He still is.  When he woke up yesterday, he stood up in his crib, held out his hands to admire his nails, and proudly said, “Nails painted.”

Luke has a wide range of interests that are not limited by traditional gender expectations or stereotypes.  He has no sense of what’s considered girlish or manly (or maybe he just doesn’t care).  He absolutely loves his pink, kitty cat rain boots (hand-me-downs from Charlotte).  He also enjoys tea parties, baking, dolls, and playing family.

On another hand, my dad is what some would call a man’s man.  He’s a hunting, fishing, wood-chopping, engine-fixing type of guy.  And, to put it simply, I’m not.  (Thankfully, my dad never cared. Hopefully, Luke feels the same unconditional love from me as I’ve always felt from my dad.) 

Luke is also a man’s man in some ways.  He loves trucks, dirt, tools, baseball, and knocking things over. 

I suppose that right know, Luke could be described as a dragon-slaying, muffin-baking, ball-throwing, tea-sipping, stick-swinging, pink boot-loving, book-reading, royal red nail polish-wearing type of guy.

And I couldn’t be happier.  The world is his oyster.  Or, perhaps more appropriately, the world is his teacup.

I hope you enjoyed today’s serving of ‘mac & cheese’ (potentially while wearing royal red nail polish).