I can not tell a lie.

The idea of raising a girl terrified me.

The idea of raising two girls is……..hard to even put into words.

I worry.

I worry about what it means for a girl to grow up in a media driven world that wants her to

Idolize Disney Princesses

Wear all the pink

Play with “Brat Dolls”

Think math and science are hard

Get the longest eyelashes! 

Burn that booty back into shape! 

I worry about them having to navigate Facebook, friendships, mean girls, fighting, bullying, cyberbullying, unwanted sexual advances and really scary stuff like sex trafficking.

Do moms of boys worry this much?

It’s not that I would prefer boys or that I would ever change anything.

It’s just that sometimes I feel paralyzed with fear for all the bad things that could happen to a young girl.

And then your wise and worldly gestational 19 week old reminds you that girls rock.

Literally.

I can’t think of the last time that I felt such pure, free, and unadulterated joy.

That everything was right with the world.

That I should just keep learning, growing, and doing my best to raise little girls that rock the world with their very existence.

I should have realized all of this already with Sadie.

The girl who loves playing with rocks, blocks, fish, bugs, worms, and farm animals.

The girl who refuses to watch tv (despite my best efforts!), who climbs everything with reckless abandon,  who loves getting caught in the rain, looking at the moon, and pointing to all the airplanes in the sky.

Also the girl who plays with baby dolls,  screeches at Mariah Carey decibels, and hugs stuffed bunnies.

She’s sweet and sassy and everything that a girl can be.

As her interests broaden and grow, I can’t help but daydream about all the magnificent things these girls will do.

I only hope I can show them the world and that they can make their world everything they want it to be.

Rock on, girls.

Rock on.

19 WEEKS!