29 August 2008

The girl who looks like a boy but is really a girl

I've been out of the loop!  Not a lot of sewing going on, and no picture-taking of the sewing going on, so no sewing post yet.  Later this weekend I'll post a photo of the latest shirt refashion.  But for now, an update on what's kept me away from Blogland for so long...

Louis started Kindergarten Monday!  I spent last week fretting and preparing.  When Monday morning came, we were set and Louis was a champ.  He walked straight in the classroom and settled right in.  No tears from either of us, though I felt nauseous a couple times.  And he had a really, really great week!  Success!

Louis came home that first day and said, "There's a girl in my class who looks like a boy but is really a girl."  I asked if he knew her name, and he didn't.  

The next day, after school, he recalled an encounter with said girl on the playground: "Mom, I made it to the third monkey bar on the playground today.  But the girl who looks like a boy but is really a girl?  She made it all the way across the monkey bars by herself!"  I asked if he knew her name yet, and he said no.  So I suggested he find out the next day.

Wednesday, after school, I asked Louis if he found out this little girl's name.  He said, "Which little girl?"  At which point I had to respond, "The little girl who you say looks like but boy but is really a girl."  To which he replied, "No."

I'd seen this little girl, and for the record, she neither looks nor dresses like a boy.  Her hair is a long pixie/ almost shag, super-cute, but she's pretty feminine.  So I asked Louis, "Why do you think she looks like a boy?"  And he said, "Her hair is short."  I pointed out, "My hair is shorter than hers.  Do you think I look like a boy?"  Louis said, "No.  But she's really strong."

WHAT?  Chauvinism is permanently etched on that Y chromosome from the point of conception?

I said, "Yes, but I'm really strong and I'm not a boy."  He fell silent.  No other logic to rationalize his instinct.  Today I finally asked Louis' teacher what this little girl's name is.

Alex.

8 comments:

  1. Haah. That's a really funny story especially the clincher at the end..."her/his" name is Alex???
    Kids are great. Me and my husband both have non-gender names too. It's great fun.

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  2. this is awesome, kids are hysterical. It's a big reason why I'm a teacher...although teenagers aren't nearly as entertaining.

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  3. Hahahaha.... That was really cute.

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  4. What a great story, it made me laugh out loud! I'd love to know if her name is really Alexandria and they use Alex as a nickname. Like Ronnie for Veronica or Sam for Samantha.

    It's not easy being a girl with a boy's name! I should blog about it. :)

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  5. Hi AP,

    Great story. Glad to hear you are holding up to the rigors of kindergarten parenthood. I have 3 more years before I have to tackle it, but I am fretting already. ugh.
    All the best!

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  6. Oh man. I lost all my hair when I was 16. A girl with NO hair?? Unimaginable for small children! I got the most perplexed looks from children almost always followed up by them asking their parents in earshot "Is that a boy or a girl?"

    This story made me laugh so hard remembering how sweet and silly and downright funny the innocence of kids can be! Thanks for sharing!

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  7. My six year old nephew came home from school and said, "There's a new boy in my class. His name is Foot."

    "Foot?" we asked. "Are you sure?"
    "Maybe its Feet," he replied.

    Turns out the kid's name was Hans.

    :-)

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  8. Alex is short for Alexandra.
    And as I'm her dad, who she's always asking to be carried by, I didn't realize she was so strong either.

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