Nail Painting - Bonding With Daughters

“You can tell a lot from a person's nails. When a life starts to unravel,
they're among the first to go.” - Ian McEwan, Saturday

   I'm an artist. Whether by innate character, or the degree I hold (now that I'm in medical sales,...cough-cough!), I'm always an artist first and foremost. When my firstborn turned out to be a girl, I knew I'd be up for nail painting. I've gotten halfway decent at it, and thought I was on my way. Then I stumbled across PolishArtAddition and immediately felt inadequate. I figure as long as I keep trying, my 'Lil Miss won't fault me for making some time to be together.

   A few years back I called my father to check in and say hello. I asked what he was up to and he replied that he had just given my little half-sister a bath, and was brushing her hair. I let an appropriate silence go by before saying softly, "You never brushed MY hair, dad." He protested that "he didn't know what to do with little boys before I could tell him I was just giving him a hard time. It stuck with me though, that he didn't try as hard as he could have. Maybe he didn't try has hard as he THOUGHT he could have.

   Now, I'm not going to make bumper stickers that say "Real Men Paint Nails!", but you get the point. Whether we cook with our little girls, or hammer nails with our little boys. In our house we've not only done that, but I've painted my son's nails and played Jedi with my daughter. It's all in the effort and creating the experiences. I challenge us all to do more, to be more involved, and to get outside our comfort zone when it comes to our children. I wish my father was more affectionate with us four boys. 'Nuff said. What's YOUR favorite thing to do with your kids?

J.

Nails, Tunes,..... Balance

   So this past weekend found me thinking about stuff in my life. One of the things that always takes me back to the roots of happiness is to quietly spend some time with my 'Lil Miss and paint me some nails!!! I'm getting better at it and she doesn't protest at ALL! In fact, her teacher said that she was showing all her school friends, teachers, classrooms pets, etc. Clearly she is a girly girl who loves to get 'er nails did.
   Make no mistake, is a conversation piece too. I speak with LOADS of people every day and finding small talk to either pass the time or build relationships is important. I rank my daughter's nail VERY high on the value meter. The ladies I speak with (that have influence in the offices I visit), think it's adorable, commendable, above and beyond as a father, and so on. I would have never known. Getting props is always cool, but it's reminded me of how uncommon stuff like that is. There are certain things that are traditionally NOT in a father's bag of tricks. I'm trying to change that, and the result is a closer relationship with my daughter and a different view of me in others' eyes.
   Have your wife show you the basics. Then just trial and error. You can always clean it off and start over (though, age + attention span = few tries). Oh, and I plan on playing several versions of my new favorite song "Never Going Back Again" by Fleetwood Mac. Here's the Glee version, which is pretty good.



Later,

J.

Daddy Painting Nails - Not So Girly After All!

"Daddy, can you paint my nails?"

     The questions once seemed like such an odd one. Yet, a few years back, it all changed. I knew things would be different after my daughter was born. I just didn't know HOW much. I'm one of four boys. We did all things G.I. Joe, pirate, hot lava, etc. Yet we all have girls now. It was a few years back, when I saw a member of our family with HIS toes painted a sparkley silver. I asked him about it and he said it was a way for him to spend more time with his two girls. He would paint theirs, and then they would paint his. It became a tradition. I tried it once in Hawaii with my niece, in order to get her to try it for the first time. It was a great experience.
     So it trickled down to our little tradition. Only so often, we break out the kit and get to trimming, cleaning and painting. TRUST me, I've had to ask for help and direction from my wife. It's totally worth it though. Practice makes perfect, and on a child's feet, the canvas is wiped clean often. I've recently looked into stencils to add some flavor to the end result. Places like OC Nail Art are a great place to get started. I make more mistakes than clean jobs, so take it from a semi-pro, it's more about the time with you daughter.
     Now chat with the wife, break out the colors this weekend, and give it a try. You'll be glad you did.

J.