#191 - SC

Seldom do you get to pick your childhood friends.  They are either the kids of the adults that your parents hang out with, or they are neighbors.  I hate to sound like an old fogey, but back when was growing up, kids played outside a lot more.  They did not stay inside in front of the TV or computer.  At least at my house we didn't.  #191 is a girl who lived down the street from me.  She was a year older than me, but that was about all we had in common.  I never really understood where she was coming from.  I wanted to be outside playing with the boys.  Baseball, kick the can, hide and go seek, pass routes...and on and on.  If that was out, I wanted to ride my bike or play hopscotch.  If it was raining, I wanted to sit inside and read.  Never, ever did I want to play dolls, fix my hair in different styles, or play with make-up.  #191 did.  Sometimes I obliged her, but only if the boys were unavailable.  As we grew up, we went our separate ways.  We went to the same high school... she was the captain of the dance-team and I went the ball route.  I now see her from time to time around town, usually at a kids birthday party.  She has twins which keep her very busy. 

Once again, it's funny to me, the people who pass in and out of our lives.  They all leave a little something that adjusts the course we are on.  With that in mind, I'll thank #191 for enlightening me what to do with nail polish, rouge, and eye shadow.  As I think back to the girl I was then, I was definitely more of a tomboy and she was more of a girly girl.  I will defend myself with this poem I found about tomboys.

Tomboys Were Right

copyright 2005

by Mariah Burton Nelson

If you were a tomboy, you knew long ago

What experts now preach all the time:

Exercise heals you. It strengthens your heart.

It also feels simply sublime.

If you were a tomboy, you rode fast and far

On your bicycle, named like a horse

You competed in neighborhood races with friends

Winning – and losing, of course.

You knew that your body was yours to enjoy.

You swam in the sea like a fish.

Disciplined, you would shoot baskets all day

'Til finally hearing that "swish."

If you were a tomboy you liked to climb trees.

Reaching for each branch above

The bark felt so rough and so right that it

Helped you discover what you were made of.

If you were a tomboy, then you're still an athlete

You've been walking with pride all along.

Or have you forgotten? Then let me remind you:

You've always been brave, free, and strong.

Invited or not, you showed up for Little League.

You cried out: "This gym is too small!"

You spoke up for fairness. You protested pinnies.

You kept your eye on the ball.

By refusing to stay on the sidelines

By saying, "I won't simply cheer,"

You redefined "woman" and "athlete."

You served as a sport pioneer.

Pioneers don’t earn much money.

Pioneers don’t get much fame.

But they dare to go first. That changes

Everything, transforming the entire game.

Nowadays we are all athletes.

Even old women can sail

Nowadays we would just laugh if they told us

It's more ladylike to be frail.

Your daughter: She won't be a tomboy.

They no longer call girls that name.

If she's adventurous, agile and quick

They'll more likely say, "She's got game."

But you were a tomboy. You learned how to lead

And you led like a true, brilliant star.

Going first matters. So please let me

THANK YOU for daring to be who you are.

Now that sounds more like me!  :)