Sunday 1 October 2017

Tiara-boom-de-ay (Adventures of L-Plate Gran)


Now that she has reached the ripe old age of three and a half,  Little G has become a huge fan of dressing up. Her favourite costume at present is a bright pink and green sparkly fairy dress with pink stick-on wings (think: Flower Fairies on acid) that I found in a charity shop. The moment she gets into the house, she is off to the playroom to change into it.

'Look, grandma, I'm a fairy princess. I'm so pretty,' she announces, twirling in front of the mirror while presenting me with a moral dilemma of epic proportions, because You Must Be Mad has dinned it into me that one must not encourage her to focus on her physical appearance alone. 'Umm ... but you're also a kind fairy princess who helps people, aren't you?' I parrot obediently.

Little G treats this intervention with suitable indifference. 'Of course,' she says, twirling a bit more. 'Look, my dress goes out when I turn round.' There then follows the discussion about whether the silver tiara is better than the pink tiara. It is hard work being three and a half: so many important decisions have to be considered.

Spending a day with a small child dressed as a cast member from Midsummer Night's Dream presents its own very weird moments. I find myself uttering stuff that no sane person would be caught saying, such as: 'Sorry, you'll have to take your wings off, I can't get the seat belt over them.'

Then there is the accessorising. Little G has a box full of what you could call cheap plastic tat, but to her represents riches untold. Much time is spent picking over her loot, selecting what to wear. Look, you might be a shrinking violet, but trailing round Sainsburys in a shocking pink fairy dress, pink wings, tiara AND a selection of Frozen necklaces and bracelets is the way to go. When you are three and a half, it's all about fading into the foreground.






10 comments:

  1. At 4 My grand-daughter has graduated from an Elsa dress to a Moana costume. That's when she's not wearing her Little Mermaid knitted tail!

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    1. and why not? I have been offered some of her jewellery to wear ..a very fetching necklace made from painted pasta is my current go-to piece of jewellery when we are together.

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  2. This all sounds very familiar. I so hope you don't have a melt down n the shoe shop the first time you have to buy black shoes for school ... I WANT PINK!!!!!

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  3. Just brilliant, Carol. Just brilliant! I want a 3.5 year old grandchild! Do you think I could get one at Sainsbury's?

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  4. Oh, how lovely. I remember having to manoeuvre through Tesco with Spider-Man, a ninja turtle, and a fairy once - yes, it was the kids and not me on a normal Saturday night out on the town ;)

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    1. It's the way they simply couldn't care less for 'public opinion' I love...

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  5. Welcome back Grandma! (Keep a close eye on Little G as I don't possess even one little grandchild. Boo hoo!) I loved your old posts, and doubtless there'll be fun ones in the future. Bring 'em on...(I loved dressing-up when small and won the dizzying amount of one hundred pounds for a poem about same.) xx

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