J-Girl is in 6th GRADE!!!! I had a flashback this morning about the heels we used to wear to school in 6th grade. Four inch high wedged sandals. Well, I didn't; I was already too self-conscious about my height to rock anything more than about 2 1/2 inches. But I thought mine were cooler than the Cherokees that the popular crowd wore. In 6th grade...age 11...
Alas, I could not find an image of mine on the world wide web, though I didn't check the Smithsonian's website. They and the other specimens of their class are probably in landfills all over the country, their painted rubber, faux wood cut-out wedge heels slowly (not) decomposing, leaching toxins into the ground water. Mmmm. It's like getting a taste of my youth every single day.
Anyway, back when I was in 6th grade, these were not the daily wear, but I'd say once a month or so our adolescent hormones would urge us into feeling a little more "mature" for a day. Not so mature that we could just show up to school on a whim, alone in said heels and tea-length flowing skirts. There was coordination involved, and the needed commitment of at least 3 girls to do it.
It is very cool to see J-Girl committed to her own sense of style. She has always had a flair for putting together and pulling off unique combinations of clothing that look so great on her, very much a personal style. She doesn't need to have the same anything as anyone. In fact, she revels in being a little different. Fashion aside, I remember finding her in her room, broken down crying about a math problem in second grade. When I tried to help her by suggesting that "people do this when they have a problem like that" she wailed, "I know! But I want to be different!" While she can still be a quiet non-conformist, she has learned when it is practical not to reinvent the wheel and when it is fabulously appropriate to experiment with self-expression.
Which brings us to this:
J-Girl started a sewing class this summer. This is her second project. The first was a simple drawstring bag, and the second, this adorable skirt. We picked out the pattern together, with the teacher's guideline that it have an elastic waist, not zippered, but she chose the fabrics all by herself, and with her extra time made a cute coordinating headband. She looks great!
Her next project is her Halloween costume. She is VERY into the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, and is going to be a vampire. This will be the first year that she will have a homemade costume that was not made by me! I'm glad that she iss having such a great time with sewing and is finding pride and pleasure in the accomplishments. I will still have the challenge of figuring out J-Boy's costume, though. My kids have a tradition of picking things that are obscure and not for sale. Love it, and it gives me a chance to get creative. The clock is ticking...
