Apparently, after the first time I met the wife of my husband’s motorbike riding buddy, she confided to her husband that she was relieved to discover that I am a ‘tekkie mom’.

Tekkie is the South African word for Trainers. Pronounced ‘tackie’. The only reason I even know what a ‘trainer’ is, is because I spent 9 years in the UK. No such thing as a ‘tekkie’ there! 

It’s the first time someone had ever called me that, but I wasn’t offended. Here’s why. As a Stay-At-Home-Mom, my usual dress code/momiform is:-

  • jeans (from Woolworths), skinny or bootcut;
  • trainers (Salamons – happy to accept sponsorship anytime!); in summer I sometimes swap out the trainers for flip-flops or flats.
  • a t-shirt;
  • jumper or hoodie (in winter);
  • earings – always earings! Usually simple studs;- I’d rather wear earings and no make-up, than make-up and no earings.
  • Hair: I wear my hair down for the first day after I’ve washed and straightened it, but there after it’s a pony-tail or a bun.
  • Make-up: I wear BB cream as a ‘foundation’, eyeliner (always!) and  mascara, and sometimes I even remember to wear lipgloss – although I actually hate the stickyness of it.
  • I also always have my toe-nails painted, but never my finger-nails.

So when my eldest daughter (5) asked me to please wear a pretty dress to her dance concert this coming Friday, I felt awful!

Don’t get me wrong, not awful for the way I usually present myself. I’m actually okay with that. I can ‘doll’ myself up when I have to, but as a stay-at-home-mom, I really don’t see the point in dressing to impress every single day. Also, after having two hip-replacements last year, (more on that tomorrow), high heels and dresses were totally impractical. In the beginning I missed them, but now I really don’t.

Getting back to my daughter, what her innocent request showed me though is that she wants me to show her how to be pretty. They love dresses and love watching me put on my make-up or do my hair, and painting nails is the ultimate for them.

In this day and age when so much emphasis is being put on teaching girls to be intelligent, and hard-working, and to have equal opportunities, I guess I tend to not emphasis looks or beauty too much.

I always tell them they are beautiful, but I tend to show more attention when I am proud of their actions or their achievements.

The question is, “Is it so wrong for them to want to be exposed to beauty and is it wrong for them to want to be beautiful?”

No. No it is not.

So now I have to psych myself up to go shopping. I hate shopping. I went to have a wander around the shops for 20 minutes this morning in an attempt to scout which shop ‘s selection of dresses I actually liked, and then maybe tomorrow I will actually go and try-on the dresses in the hopes of finding one that doesn’t make me look frumpy, or show too much leg, or highlight the fact that I have almost no boobs left after huge weight loss and breast-feeding two hungry babies.

All for you my darling dancing diva. Mommy shopping for a dress proves I will do anything for my girls.

We must never forget, as mothers we are also role-models for our daughters. They are watching us all the time, learning from our example.

Oh oh! Does this mean I need to cut down on the wine? Kidding!!!! I will need the wine to numb the pain of dress shopping.