Fashionistas

As my girls get older, it is becoming more and more apparent that I am going to get to relive some of the unpleasant parts of growing up girl. To be honest, I had blocked out a great deal of how fricking mean girls can be -- and how that pecking order is established early.

Over dinner the other night, eldest informed me that one of the girls at school *hated* her.

K: "Hey Mom, did you know that someone at school hates me?"
Me: ... ..."What makes you think that, Hon?"
K: "Well, Julie* told me at lunch recess that Lisa* hates me."
Me: "I don't understand. Why would Lisa hate you? Wasn't she in your class last year?"
K: "Yeah, but she is one of the fashion girls -- they hate people."

Youngest pipes up as I am obviously confused:

A: "Yeah Mom, there's a whole group of them. And they decide who to hate."
K: "Yeah, and we're *not* all into fashion like they are.
A: "Yeah, we're just normal -- not Fashionistas."
K: "Definitely not Fashionistas."

I swear to God I almost fell out of my chair when I heard them using this term Fashionista. How do they come up with this stuff? Fashionistas.....

Given the tone of their voices. They don't want to be fashionistas -- that's good, I think. And eldest didn't seem bothered in the least that this other girl "hated" her. Again, good. But oh crap, I remember shit like this. Only for me it didn't start until 6th grade or something. Yuck. I hated it then and I know I am going to hate it now...

What is it about little girls, and hell -- some women -- that just have to create these little pockets of exclusivity in order to be "happy" or whatever? I have never understood the need to exclude anyone in order to feel better about myself or the people I hang out with. ('Course that's probably why I was never in the "fashionista" clique back in my day....) I always thought that just being nice was the way to go....

So now I have to try and dispense sage (and hopefully useful) advice. We all know how well "just ignore it" and "be nice anyway" works. Ugh. Why is it so fricken hard to make kids to be *nice* to one another??

And I am going to have to stay tuned in to all of this petty BS while remembering Cardinal Mother Rule #16. What is C.M.R. #16?

16. Whatever they tell you DO NOT under any circumstances visibly freak out. If you (visibly) lose your mind when they tell you things they will eventually stop telling you. When you say "you can talk to me about anything." You have to mean it. Stay cool...... (The teen years are coming -- you're going to need this!)

And I have to tamp down the Momma Bear urge to corner this Lisa girl next time I am at school and give her the what for about being nice....

So what other fun memories of "growing up girl" do I get to relive? How much have I blocked out? As always, just when I think I have the whole "parenting" thing down into a system, the parameters change....... And the fashionistas? I blame this trend in part....

Bratz Pack

Motto: The ONLY girls with a PASSION FOR FASHION!


::retch::



*names changed to protect the little sh ... um... brats.