Mary Jane dissecting a quesadilla
After raising three fine sons, I have a beautiful golden-haired granddaughter with storybook corkscrew curls and cornflower blue eyes. “Lessons in Chemistry” was published when she was mastering toddlerhood, and I am grateful that now the ratio of men and women in the fields of medicine and science are pretty close. I don’t want my granddaughter to be a racecar driver or necessarily work with power tools, but I don’t want her vocation to be decided for her based on her sex.
I made it my mission to expose her to all manner of options, not just pink ballet tutus and baby dolls. Her parents were totally on board, as well. The minute she could sit up, I bought a little toy barn, the same one my youngest son had loved. He’d learned all about farm animals and their sounds and how to pronounce their names. Horssssse. Piggggg. Cowwwww. I told my tiny granddaughter about chores the farmer must do to care for the animals and that just because the toy figure was in overalls, farmers are not always men.
As a matter of fact, I bought her the cutest pair of overalls and red high top tennis shoes. My friend Denise always dressed her little girls in adorable outfits that featured these garments, pink overalls and purple high tops and matching hairbows, and I was so excited to do the same.
It’s obvious Mary Jane really should only wear blue. (As a brown-eyed person, I feel strongly that anyone with blue or green eyes should wear those shades only. Duh.) I bought her a tiny blue coat and a few blue dresses along with the dark blue overalls.
Mary Jane loves the racetrack I have and her little battery-powered drill set is one of her favorite toys. Playing ball with her grandfather is a favorite pastime, and she loves to don a stethoscope and give me a shot.
But the first thing she does when she comes to my house is change clothes.
“I need to put on a dress,” she says without fail as she heads upstairs. She changes out of her current dress and into one of the beautiful handmade dresses Jan Weaver lent her. If the weather is chilly, she usually she selects the heart patterned bathing suit accented with pink frilly tutu. And no, she does not wear leggings or a sweater with this getup. Only dresses that twirl will do, and only the color pink is acceptable. She must get that proclivity from Auntie Gwin Tugman.
So all the blue business stays folded in the drawer along with anything green, red, tan or orange. Overalls are nowhere in the equation.
She is just getting started in this world, and is clear about part of it already: She loves pink and that is that. The rest will fall into place.
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Ferris Robinson is the author of three children’s books, “The Queen Who Banished Bugs,” “The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds,” and “Call Me Arthropod” in her pollinator series. “Making Arrangements” is her first novel. “Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity” is a collection of true tales about man’s best friend. Her website is ferrisrobinson.com and you can download a FREE pollinator poster there. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.
Ferris Robinson