Saturday, the girl came along on a trip that became shopping hell. In the eighth store of our 11 store trip, I was near tears in a dressing room surrounded by a pile of rejected outfits. No, we weren’t shopping for her, just me. I have an event to attend this weekend (two, actually) and worked myself into a frenzy searching for something to wear.

The girl was trying to help, but in the first several stores, had something awful to say about everything I tried on. By store seven she was apologizing for being so critical. By store nine she was suggesting just a new bag or a pair of shoes, to go with whatever we might dig out of my closet.

It was a craptastic shopping trip.

I did, finally find something I could live with in store 11.

My dear, wonderful daughter came to me with a book and said, you need to read this: “Compare? No Fair! It’s tempting to compare yourself to girls you see on TV and in magazines and movies. But hold on! is it fair to measure yourself against made-in-Hollywood images created by makeup artists and photo wizards? No way! You don’t need to measure yourself against anyone at all, including friends or other girls at school. You’re you — a one-of-a-kind original — and you’re beautiful in your own unique way” from the American Girl book The Care and Keeping of You.

And she’s right, and taught me a lesson I should have been teaching her.

What lessons have your children taught you?

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