"I Like Myself!"

Over the weekend, my parents came to visit. We ate great food {and WAY too much of it}, had good conversation and Boogie got lots of love from her grammie & grampie!

Grammie made sure she took lots of cute piccys of Miss Jocelyn!

Daddy and I even got yummy treats from the parentals -- cinnamon & caramel popcorn from Topsy's and homemade crackers! Double-the-yum!

My parents wanted to go to Barnes & Nobles Sunday morning and pick out some cute books for Boogie as Christmas presents.

THERE IS ALWAYS SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM!!!

Good problem to have! :)

My mom perhaps found the best children's book ever!

The book is called I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont
 
This book has all the qualities every children's book should have: colorful pages, fun pictures and a good story.

I love that Jocie likes this book because it also has a good message that would do everyone good to hear.

So, like the crazy person I am ... I'm going to write the story.

I like myself! I'm glad I'm me.
There's no one else I'd rather be.
I like my eyes, my ears, my nose. I like my fingers and my toes.
I like me wild.
I like me tame.
I like me different and the same.
I like me fast.
I like me slow.
I like me everywhere I go.
I like me on the inside, too, for all I think and say and do.
Inside, outside, upside down, from head to toe and all around, I like it all!
It all is me!
And me is all I want to be.
And I don't care in any way what someone else may think or say.
I may be called a silly nut or crazy cuckoo bird - so what?
I'm having too much fun, you see, for anything to bother me!
Even when I look a mess, I still don't like me any less,
'Cause nothing in this world, you know, can change what's deep inside, and so ...
No matter if they stop and stare, no person
Ever
Anywhere
Can make me feel that what they see is all there really is to me.
I'd still like me with fleas or warts, or with a silly snout that snorts,
Or knobbly knees or hippo hips or purple polka-dotted lips,
Or beaver breath or stinky toes or horns protruding from my nose,
Or - YIKES! - with spikes all down my spine, or hair that's like a porcupine.
I still would be the same, you see ...
I like myself because I'm ME!

Isn't this THE BEST message anyone could hear? And especially a child! Can't help but think that the child inside of us all could benefit from loving ourselves a little bit more, and if we all did, the world would probably be a much happier place. We are all guilty of being able to point out what we don't like about ourselves, whether its something physical, an ability we lack, wishing we had a talent, that we were more social or more friendly, that we could cook or bake, be able to fix our cars or house without breaking a sweat ... the list is endless ... the negative is easy to focus on!

It's hard to love others if you don't also love yourself, and I'm talking about the "love yourself" with no stipulations or reservations!

My favorite part of the book was this little portion ...

"No matter if they stop and stare, no person
EVER anywhere can make me feel that
what THEY SEE is all there really is to me!"

 

Perhaps I liked this section so much because people stare at Jocelyn, and myself, so often and who knows what they are thinking. Half the time I don't really want to know. But as luck would have it, I was reading this exact book to Jocie at the store to see if she was even interested in it before my parents bought it for her, and right before we got to this part of the book, some lady walked all the way over to where we were sitting, just to stand in front of Jocelyn and gawk, then walked away.

She didn't say a single word. She simply stood in front of Boogie, gave her the "up/down" a few times, then walked off.

It was the most ridiculous thing and she couldn't have been more obvious. I even asked my mom, "Did that lady seriously just walk all the way over here just to get a better look at Jocelyn?" I had to ask my mom because I thought surely I was imagining it! Nope! Total rudeness was written all over that situation.

 

Since Jocelyn does stand out in so many magnificent ways, I truly do hope that she knows even if people do "stop and stare," that there is SO MUCH MORE to her than they will ever have the pleasure to see!