Shopping with my daughter

Okay I promised a story about the Easter dress and so here it is. When I was a little girl I remember shopping for an Easter dress one year with my grandmother and papa. I believe we went to Sears or JC Penny's. My oldest sister was there and we both had new dresses and bonnets and if I remember correctly we also had new purses. It was one of those memories that you cherish and look forward to doing something similar with your own child. So that is exactly what we have done for the last three years. This yeaar however was a little diferent.
First I had a couple of returns from Land's End to take to Sears. I thought that while we were there we might look for Maggie's Easter dress. We began looking at the dresses that they had. Everything that was under the size 6x was adorable. However Maggie is no longer wearing a 6X, so we moved over to the section that was 7 and up. I was shocked. Every dress we looked at was a "hoochie momma" style. This means that they were low cut, clingly, or ooked like something a 25 year old might wear. Nothing was appropriate. Maggie pulled out a couple of dresses but I had to say no. She picked dresses with bright bold colors, or a floral pattern. I told her we had a couple of other stores we could look at before we decide. So we decided to have a little lunch and then continue our searching. as we headed to Chick Fil-A we passed JC Penny's and a quick glance told me that would be our best place to look. It had been so long since I shopped for clothes outside of small boutiques, Children's Place and Target or Walmart that I think I forgot about options.
After lunch we headed for JC Penny's. In my mind's eye we skipped and sang while holding hands and gliding through the mall (I am sure Maggie remember's it a little differently but she can tell the story her way another time.) Anyway we breeze into JC Penny's and I was thrilled. There is hope moms of daughters! JC Penny's had sweet, innocent dresses for girls of all ages and sizes! I of course head straight to the girls spring dresses and Maggie well lets just say she wasn't with me. She headed for some of the "older" styles. I explained how some dresses are cut for a more mature look. The blank look told me she did not get it. I mentioned how they were ment for girls with bigger "boobies" and she giggled and hung it back on the rack. She proceeded to pick a bright pink dress made out of a slinky form fitting material that instantly made my eyebrows creep upward on my forehead. She also picked out a dress covered in flowers that would have been sweet on a fifteen year old. The dress I had picked up was a pale green qith pink flowers embroidered on the top and a princess waist with a matching pink ribbon. Maggie liked it but thought her choices were better and proceeded to ask to try on the dresses all by herself. Trying not to show show the shock I felt I told her that was out of the question but I would not offer any help unless asked while we were in the dressing room. This was agreeable and so we headed off to try on the lot.
Once inside I was careful not to help or do as much as I have in the past. Maggie chattered on and on about how pretty the colors were or how "spinny" the dress looked. She asked if I could help tie or zip each dress. I nodded but said nothing. I knew that I would be the one to pay for the dress thus I make the final decision but I did not want the battles that I remembered with my own mom so I prayed! "Please Lord let my opinion still mean something!
She tried on the first dress. Bright pink and clinging to everything! She loved how it twirled around her knees. I smiled and she asked "What do you think, mom?"
Whoppee!!! She asked, now I could tell her that the color was too old, the style to mature, and the material to clingy! Then I saw her smile. So I took a second look at the dress. If I ripped it apart, what would I do to her own thinking. I remember being critized for my size as a child. I remember the pity in my own mothers eyes as she told me a dress did not fit which I could tell was my fault. Suddenly the answer to my prayer was in my ear. "Yes daughter she wants and values your opinion. Make sure your opinion is worthy." So I smiled and her and said "It's nice. And yes it does spin." The next dress was her floral dress choice. Once she had it on I could tell that it was not for her. And the funny thing was, she could too! However she looked me dead in the eyes and said "You know mommy, we don't have to like the same things, all the time." My heart cried but I moved forward. Finally she was ready to try on the dress I picked out. She tried it on, I could feel my face beginning to grin. We zipped it up, I was smiling from ear to ear. When I turned her around to face the mirror she could see my face and she grinned and pointed at me to remind me to wait to comment until she asked. Then she spun around, she curtsied to the mirror, and then she spun around again. Finally she looked me in the eyes and said "What do you think?" I told her that I loved it! She said she did too. So it was time for a decision. We looked at the each dress again and she told me what she liked and I told her what I liked. I asked her what she didn't like about each one. final decision: my dress won! Now I was fully ready to pull the mom card and buy the one I felt was best for her but by going slow I allowed her to grow a little and still trust that mom would listen and consider her likes as well.

Overall we had a great day, shoes, dress, and no stress (at least on the outside).