The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Stu often tells people that we have two boys and "a middle princess."

She's as cute as cute can be, that middle princess. Somehow she already has a figure most 20 year olds would kill for, beautiful straight hair that is naturally the color Jennifer Aniston  pays $1,000s to create. And her sense of style is killer - carefully mixing and matching items from her wardrobe with the aplomb of a stylist. Owning four pairs of shoes apparently isn't enough. (She's five mind you!)  Recently she told me, "Mom, I don't have enough shoes."

Plus she's darling: fluffing her hair at men and giggling behind her hand with the other girls. Honestly, she's an enigma to me - where did she come from - already beautiful, confident and decisive at five years old.

With all these good qualities it would seem, dear reader, that every day is roses with our dear Mugsy, right? However, you are sorely mistaken.

Not only are her feet the smelliest in America (can I get an AMEN from anyone who's babysat her?), her attitude often stinks too. I've never met a person more prone to the "I can't's" than she is. Simple homework is an enormous battle because it is bending her will. Doing prescribed work is almost too much for her delicate, determined, direct personality to absorb. I'm at my wits end with her on a regular basis. It's hard for me to imagine a more foreign creature to come from my womb. Having grown up with three brothers, the vicissitudes of boys seem familiar and banal. But the girl... oh the girl.

I do hope that someday her mystery will subside and she will become My Girl. But for now she is shrouded in mystery and stinky feet. Bad attitude galore. Making what seems so lovely become extraordinarily ugly. And then to think, this is just the beginning. In the not-so-distant future this creature, this Good, Bad and Ugly girl will turn 13. Just that thought turns my stomach.