Nailed It

I'm not super girly... in fact I'm not girly at all.  In fact my daughters have actually shown me a lot of what it means to be softer and more feminine.  One of the activities I associate with being a girly girl- painting nails.  My daughters have been begging me for months to paint their nails.  I've refused so many times that at one point they stopped asking.  Recently, I said yes. Glad I did... but instead of me painting their nails, I let them paint their own.

Here's why:

• Nail painting takes a great deal of coordination and motor dexterity.  Nails are tiny and that brush is massive.  I found it very difficult myself to paint my own adult sized nails.  I watched Big Sister paint her own nails and then Little Sister's nails with a great deal of concentration. Quite impressive. 
  
• Nail painting became a production of pride for them.  They were so excited by their work and were very proud of their job well done once they were finished.  
  
• Nail painting makes them feel "jazzy". (Yes someone said "I feel jazzy".)  When Little Sister held her nails up, she said, "Oooooo, I am so glamorous".  Every woman or girl should feel glamorous at some point because for some reason it makes us feel more confident and special.
  
• Nail painting makes them patient.  Since they want to paint in the skin lines, they take their time.  Because they don't want to mess up their nails, they wait for them to dry.  The only other time they're willing to wait this long is when dinner is walking toward the table and even then there are comments that I'm not moving fast enough.  Patience with drying nails however was seen as a necessity to the beauty routine.  Holy cow...
  
• Nail painting is a skill that can be mastered with practice.  Staying in those skin lines is a unique skill that I suck at. But practice makes perfect. Where else do kids use both hands equally on a fine motor task, other than maybe sports and video games (which I'm all about)? (FYI: other activities to improve ambidexterity include knitting, sewing, juggling...)
  
• Nail painting is communal.  When women sit around they talk.  This was a great opportunity for us to check in and discuss nothing at this point, but I'm sure it'll be something when something happens.  Having this as another way for us to stay connected and in each others' business is awesome.
  

So we'll be painting nails more often.  Maybe not every day or every week, but regularly. Now I really appreciate why it's important to (and for) them.