Last night I had one of those bitter moments that comes with mothering. My little girl, only in Kindergarten, told me she had a bad day. When I asked why, she burst into tears and told me that all the kids at her table at school said there was no such things as mermaids. One minute, she was happily spending her free time drawing an ocean full of mermaids, the next minute her bubble is burst. Even worse, they said mermaids were "lame" because they wore bras. (I'm going to argue that those same little boys who think scantily clad, bra wearing, women are "lame" are going to be changing their tune when they are fifteen and come across their first issue of Victoria's Secret's catalog, but that's a discussion for another day.) It saddens me to see my daughter's loss of innocence at such a young age. No such thing as magical creatures. Bras. It's all coming to fast. Maybe it's because we are all starting to realize that first grade is just around the corner and the kids are going to keep getting more cynical with every year that goes by. I love that my daughter believes in everything magic and wonderful. I want her to hold onto that as long as possible. Until she's 50 or 60 at least!
Besides the pain of seeing my daughter hurt, I also had one of those moments of, "Oh no! What do I say now?" Do I tell her there aren't mermaids? Do I tell her there are and then possibly deal with more teasing? Do I strangle those little children who are stealing my daughter's childhood from her? (Don't worry, I decided against that one immediately.) I'm hoping I did the right thing when I told her that she could believe in any kind of magic she wanted. If others don't it's not her problem. What's important is to listen to her heart and believe whatever she wants. A sniffle and nod and I think we're both okay now, but I won't know for sure until I see another mermaid drawing.
If you believe in mermaids, please leave a comment for my daughter about it here. I'll be sure to read them to her. Let's fight the good fight and keep as much magic & make believe as we can in the world. And, just in case you are a mom and you face a similiar situation, I will leave you with a quote from Francis P. Church's famous editorial to Virginia, in answer to her question about Santa Claus, in The New York Sun in 1897:
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
(The photos in this post were taken at Disneyland in 2007, back when there was no doubt that mermaids were real.)
12 comments:
I believe in mermaids! They are magical creatures who live in our imagination. I believe they are as real as you or I. People who don't believe have sad unmagical lives. I hope she'll still believe!
Too sad that some people don't believe in Mermaids. Why else would Disneyland be opening a new ride to celebrate Ariel? Hope you get to enjoy the ride when you visit Disneyland on your birthday. I can't wait to experience the Ariel adventure next month!
I do believe in mermaids and fairies too! My 3 year old granddaughter told me she has a rainbow colored imagination and I hope she always will!!
Boys are so silly. I should know, I have two. But, I have SEEN mermaids when I was swimming in the ocean in Hawaii. They can swim really, really fast. They like to play with dolphins and those fish that look like Nemo. Maybe these California boys haven't ever swam out far enough to see the mermaids so they don't think they are real. Maybe they don't even know how to swim. Or, maybe because they don't believe in mermaids the mermaids don't believe in them either. So the mermaids just swim far away from silly boys all together. P.S. My silly boys DO believe in mermaids, too. :0)
Everyone knows that the majority of the ocean is completely unexplored! Of course there are mermaids. If anyone tells you otherwise, tell them to prove it!
I'm 49 years young and I totally believe that mermaids exist. In fact, I hope to go on a sailing cruise soon so maybe I can actually catch a glimpse of one. Thousands of sailors can't be wrong.
Boys say the most ridiculous things sometimes, and sweetie, that probably isn't going to change for quite awhile.
Whatever we believe is real to us, and how do they know whether or not there are mermaids, anyway? Have they swam in all the oceans on the planet?
Please don't pay any attention to what boys say. They just don't know as much as they think they do.
P.S. I still believe in Santa too!
Cindy
Long ago, when men sailed way out to sea, far, far away from anywhere anybody else had ever been- mermaids felt sorry for them and revealed their magical forms to them to cheer them up and lift their spirits- this gave the sailors the courage to keep on going
www.mel-designs.typepad.com
From a scientific standpoint, we are officially discovering new creatures in the ocean all the time. I absolutely believe there are mermaids in the ocean. They are just smart enough to know how to hide from silly boys and men when they need to. I am a first grade teacher and my best writers are always the kids who believe in magic.
Now my dear, darling little girl,
take it from me
yes indeed,
there are mermaids in the sea!
Did you know that here on Earth there is far more living space in the ocean than there is on land? There is no one who has seen every inch of the ocean and mermaids are very clever at staying hidden, much like fairies do in the garden.
Mermaids are very smart and they only let very special people see them, so keep your eyes open, one day that just might be you!
Every time I walk the beach I see all the treasures they've left for me to find. I find seashells and driftwood and so much more!
Each time I start to head home I turn my face to the ocean and say, Thank you ladies of the sea, I'll keep your secret and for sending me so many beautiful seashells, I promise to help keep your ocean clean!!!
So don't listen to those who doubt,
always keep our mermaids close to you heart!
I'm sending you mermaid hugs and starfish kisses today!
Panda bears weren't "discovered" until nearly 1890. We may not have proof mermaids exist now, but maybe you will be the one to prove they do!!
Oh so sweet!
Post a Comment