Not So Nature Girl

My daughter is a lot of things. Bright. Charming. Sweet. Imaginative. Cunning. Spoiled. Funny. Cute. Bossy. The list goes on and on. She is not however a nature girl.

See it's spring here in Texas. Spring is beautiful and the country explodes with Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush. One of the things people do here is take picture with their kids in the Bluebonnets. It's Texas Tradition. Naturally I wanted to take my two kids out and snap their pics surrounded by the small blue blooms of the state flower of Texas. (not my pic. source here)
We took a weekend trip up near Abilene to a friend's ranch. On our way home we stopped and took in the sights of a few small towns and the Texas countryside.

We made a stop at Lake Whitney where we found a lovely patch of Bluebonnets. YAY!!! And then things went horrible wrong.

The girl and nature are like oil and water. Republicans and Democrats. Pat Robertson and Anton LaVey. Never will the two come together. Even for the greater good. I should have known.

When daughter was an infant I wanted to take pictures of her with her Easter basket outdoors. When I set her on the grass with her basket she just cried and cried. From that day forward she hates sitting and even walking on grass. Even with her shoes on. You think I would have remembered how she zealously sticks to the pavement and avoids all thing green and leafy.

So we went out and found this small patch of flower and I set down a jacket for her to sit on. She FREAKED out. She was surrounded by flowers and grass and weeds and, God help us, bugs. She was in panic mode and was begging to be put back into Truck-a-saurus where it was safe. Mom and Dad told her she could go to the truck just as soon and she took a picture.

She has the most pained expression on her face. *sigh* It didn't end there. I wanted to take a pic of her standing next to some lively yellow Iris at our friends ranch and she looked at them like they might bite her at any moment.

Then we went to the country home of my cousin Angela. She lives on 3 acres. She has a 2 cows and 2 goats and dogs and cats and rabbits. She has a big pile of kids. The Boy was in heaven. The girl was convinced she had descended into the very center of Hell.

Angela's dog just had puppies. We had The Girl sit in the couch with a pillow on her lap and then set a puppy there for her to pet. They were about 5 weeks old and cute as could be. She sat there like we had put a 6 inch slog in her lap. She didn't want to go outside. We had to carry her across the lawn to see the cows (from a safe distance). The grass made her "scratchy" and she didn't like the "llamas". Her word for the goats. There were animals and bugs outside and when were we going home. I think the only thing she liked was that the neighbor had brand new kittens and the kids brought them over for her too see. She likes cats.

So were is the child most comfortable? The Mall. Nothing makes her happier than the sights and sounds of that suburban retail retreat. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I weep because she won't have the Opie Taylor upbringing we wanted for our kids. She'd probably start having convulsions if we moved into any area considered rural. On the other hand I laugh because she truly loves going to different store and seeing what they sell. Even if it's just mattresses.

I can sum it up with this conversation. On our way out of town we drove by the site where a new fancy shopping center will be built. The Boy, noticing the clear cutting and beginnings of dirt work, sighed from the back seat.

The Boy - Man. Look at that. They cut down all the trees!

Aynde - Yes. They have to so that they can begin work.

The Boy - Man. *sigh* Poor Trees. They just cut down all those trees to build a stupid shopping center. *disgusted*

The Girl - *perking up after hearing the magic word* Shopping YAY!!!!

Yep. My not so nature gal -The Material Girl.