For the Love of Sharks

Did you know that they make shark gummies? They are blue and white, sold in small plastic boxes by the bulk section (I found them at Sprouts) and almost as long as a gummy worm. No? This is news to you? Well, settle in, my friend, because as the mom of a Shark Lover, I can help guide you through how much stuff is out there with sharks on it. 

I know most small kids have Their Favorite Thing, and I’ve seen the usual ones for young children: Sofia, Minions, Daniel Tiger, Legos, Batman, Iron Man, Princesses (omg, this deserves its own post), etc. But no one expects a petite six-year-old girl to be shark-crazy, and I can attest to how fun this can be. 

First of all, I am happy she loves sharks. I really am. She’s not scared, loves watching Shark Week, and was quite proud the day she checked out shark DVDs from the adult section of library. And she will tell you with great enthusiasm how the great white is her favorite, and what a cookie cutter shark is, and about the megaladon, and how people who hunt sharks for sport or shark fin soup are “poopyheads.” She got excited about Shark Tank, but was disappointed that it was not actually about sharks swimming around. She plays a game on the tablet called Shark World, which consists of creating underwater cities and hatching sharks to populate them. (Then they get into large-scale underwater battles that sound like fish slapping each other.) 

But the thing with public love of something is that suddenly your family becomes the magnet for stuff with that object because everyone knows your child loves it. I mean, I can’t help it either sometimes, I’m the mom! Even when you are out in stores, these things just seem to jump out to be noticed. So, for the shark lover, you can get:

• Shark cups

• Shark plates

• Shark water bottles

• Shark pajamas (from the boys’ section — come on, clothing manufacturers and stores, get with the program)

• Shark pencil pouch

• Giant shark mylar balloon

• Shark stuffed animals

• Shark slap bracelet

• Shark backpack

• Matching shark lunchbox

• Shark sweatshirt

• Shark Tshirt with facts (good job, Target, having that in the girls’ section)

• Shark toothbrush

• Countless shark books that come with shark tooth necklaces (which, if thrown high enough, can get stuck in a light fixture, just saying)

• Shark anatomy book

• Shark socks

• Shark slippers

• Shark hat

• Shark pencils

• Shark pillows

• Giant stuffed sharks that look like body pillows

• Shark crackers

• Shark earrings

• Shark magnet

• Shark picture frame

• Shark temporary tattoos

And this is not counting the shark adventure toys that are out there: rubbery, somewhat sticky or hard plastic sharks that you can buy either alone or with other sharks, or sharks and the marine adventurers who are going to apparently catch and study them. We’ve had to toss a sticky one after it attracted carpet fuzz, and then it went into the water to get cleaned, except it got a hole and proceeded to “poop” small plastic beads in the tub. Good times.

I’m all for expanding my kid’s knowledge of a subject. But since as the adults, my husband and I are the ones either buying, organizing, or maintaining these oceanic items, I would offer some suggestions to manufacturers:

• A mocktail/cocktail called The Shark. In fact, I may invent this over the summer.

• A vacuum that looks like a shark so my kid will want to help clean up more.

• Shark-themed beauty products — forget mermaid, I want a shark-colored eyeshadow palette. Or a lipstick in that grey-blue, sharkskin shade, can you imagine how gorgeous that would be?

• Healthy snacks in shark shapes or shark names: shark granola bars, veggies and “shark dip,” (i don’t know what that would be either, but we can just add the name “shark” to it), etc.

• A shark toy that calls out reminders occasionally for my kids’ selective hearing: “Remember to practice piano!” “Let’s take a bite out of that homework!”

• Shark bath bombs

• Shark contact paper, to sharkify anything that isn’t already shark-themed. More bang for your buck.

I see a future in this, the possibilities could be endless! Now, if anyone would like to share more ideas, just let me know — you can find me with my laptop, sipping from my shark mug.

Two Braids

“Mommy, can you do two braids today?” My eight-year-old sat down in front of me with the box of hair bands and clips. “I’ll pick out the colors I want.”

I loosened her long hair from yesterday’s braid and carefully brushed the tangles out from the shiny black waves in front of me. I remembered when this beautiful girl had short, wild, baby hair, just long enough to pull into a mini-hair band, and it would stick up in what I affectionately called the “fountainhead” style. 

Being a mother is the greatest transformative experience I have known. Along with other life and spiritual lessons it has taught me, I’m learning the appreciation of what I have now, and the cherishing of memories without wallowing in sadness. I have three daughters, and this one, the oldest, is my initiation into the world of going with the flow of things. 

When she was tiny, of course my husband and I made all the decisions. Dress you up as a strawberry for Halloween? Yes! Jacket with polka dots instead of flowers? Right on! Brown boots because that’s what they had in your size? Got it! And your precious little one doesn’t complain, because they are just so pleased with themselves in any way, shape, or form at that age. 

Starting around 2 or 3, we were introduced to …. opinions. And I was pretty flexible with clothes, so we’d routinely go out with my kid in striped leggings and a flowered dress, layered with her favorite purple shirt. Or the same turquoise pants got worn over and over and over again. And this was her, expressing herself! And it wasn’t so much of a change for me because these were still little kid clothes, covered wth cupcakes and sparkles and dinosaurs. 

The first time I noticed her becoming more mature was when we were clearing out her closet for winter. She had grown a few sizes and we were making a donation box, or putting away warm weather clothes for next season. I pulled out some tutus I had bought for her and her sister, in pink and green, their favorite colors at the time. She took one look at it and put it into the donation box.

“Really? You’re sure about not wanting that? I know sometimes you like to layer them with leggings.” I didn’t want to step on the lovely idea that she was giving away something she didn’t need or want, but I didn’t want to suddenly need the tutu tomorrow morning.

“No, I’m good. It’s just too poofy.” She went back to clearing out the sock drawer. 

A tutu was too poofy for her? Wow. This was new, but I shrugged to myself and carried on. A few weeks later it was even more interesting, when we did shoes. 

“I like boots. My friends have some, can I have boots too?”

“Well, you’ve got your snow boots, so what exactly did you have in mind? Did you like something like these?” I showed her my phone where I had pulled up pictures of boots on other 7 year olds I had seen — soft, in pink or purple, with a fuzzy lining. Some of them had pom-poms hanging off them. 

“Um, no. I want boots like yours, except not brown, I’d prefer black. They look so cool!” 

So for her birthday my seven year old got a pair of black riding boots with a buckle and no embellishments, and I watched as my little girl started moving her style into things that were more “grown-uppy.” My mind suddenly raced forward into things like makeup (which she already wanted to poke around in), high heels (they all stomped around the house in mine), and how eager they all were to explore the cool stuff in mom’s closet. When did this happen? I wanted to preserve the innocence of dress-up, of wearing and expressing themselves in the simple ways that made them happy without wanting to look like everyone else, and my heart was proud of her maturing but yet missed that toddler with the fountainhead. I know she is growing up, and I am so, so happy for her and proud of who she is. But as a parent, the struggle is real.

******

I finished braiding her hair and kissed the back of her head. One day she will declare that two braids are too “little kid” and prefers to wear her hair down, or style it like the trendy styles, or insist only she can do it herself. But at least today is not that day.

“Thanks, Ma, it’s great!” And she checked herself out in the mirror and bounced out of the room to go play with her sisters. 

That night when I kissed them all goodnight, I added a sentence in my head after we prayed. Don’t grow up too fast, baby girl.