What are *your* pink gloves?

by

Right before Thanksgiving, during the most convenient possible time of year, our dishwasher died.

It suddenly & irrevocably refused to close.

I couldnt fix it, the Tornado couldnt fix it, the Traveling Husband wasnt around to fix it & the plumber (who was here visiting for a different broken-stuff reason) was irrationally pissed & frustrated he couldnt fix it.

I share this with you as I believe there are no accidents.

The days which followed taught me a lesson about the Tornado, life & human nature.

I immediately bought myself a pair of utilitarian yellow dish-washing gloves.

The Tornado spied a pink pair at the store & promptly set to helping around the house in order to earn them.

I knew better than to think she planned to wash dirty dishes with her pink procured pair.

I assumed she’d wear them in the bath & hoped she’d be distracted & would let me wash her hair without a fight (and yes.  I also had the delusion hair washing time might become fun! I could borrow her gloves & we could play hair salon. I naive like that.)

I was wrong.

I surprised her with the gloves one morning and she immediately fashioned a pink outfit  to go with her new accessory.

I assumed she’d play in them around the house, yet when I told her it was time to leave she announced she was ready.

Gloves still firmly in place:

We ran errands & stopped for a banana-snack.

Never did the gloves leave her HAD TO BE SWEATING fingertips.

We headed to the library to return books & for story-time.

I assumed *here* she’d remove the gloves as she’d be surrounded by her gloveless peers & playing.

I was mistaken.

And the day(s) continued in this manner.

All pink-glove clad.  All the time. No matter the activity (they actually seemed to help in her sportball class.  who knew?).

She wore em all day *until* it was time bath-time when she’d take them off and put them away (of course).

Why am I sharing this with you?

Sure as her mom I think this is nauseatingly sweet—but that’s not why.

More than anything to do with the Tornado & her penchant for pinkery I was surprised by the reactions of adults.

More than anything to do with the Tornado specifically they all shared with me a deep longing to return to their pink dish washing gloved days.

Each adult who yanked me aside to make sure I’d gotten a picture also shared she wished she were young enough to do what she wanted and not give a damn what society thought.

To them a five year old wearing pink rubber gloves was cute— yet a woman of indeterminate age donning the same was, well, mildly insane.

This was simultaneously sad & thought provoking to this misfit.

When do we lose our ability to don our pink gloves & is there a way to avoid this happening?

The longing in these women *not* to care what others thought was palpable & made me more determined to foster the trait in the Tornado for as long as possible.

It also caused me to step back & attempt to identify what my pink gloves were.

Are they my tattoos?

My non-traditional career choice?

Or, is there a pair way way back in my childhood, Ive completely forgotten I ever put on?

And thats where I leave you today.

With the question (rhetorical or not. you decide.) what are your pink gloves & do you don them anymore?

Please to hit us all up below…

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Comments

  1. oh i had a rock called douglas which i carried around for a week in a bucket LOL! (probably around 5 too) whenever i go to a beach (the are all pebbley here) we have to find a new douglas which are on a shelf in the living room!

  3. That is priceless, MizFit.
    I can’t remember the last time I walked around not careing about or thinking about what other people thought.

  5. she is adorable. i’m sure you never get sick of hearing (reading) that!
    very thought provoking, to be sure. hmmm, what ARE my pink gloves? i’ll have to give it some attention.
    thanks for starting off my Friday like this!
    -g-

  6. My super-hero t-shirts. (I have Flash, Venom, Wonder Woman, etc). I get the oddest looks from adults, but they don’t say anything. It’s the young kids who say to me, “Why are you wearing a shirt like that? Those are for kids.” which makes me wonder what their parents say to indoctrinate them with such nonsense. I tell them “Why should kids get to wear all the fun clothes? I can wear whatever I want, and this is what I want to wear!”

  9. Great question!

    I think my pink gloves are going in a non-traditional direction (although that DOES beg the question: what is “traditional”, anyways? IS there a “traditional”? Heart the rhetoric ;)).

    I like to spend time by myself. I like my career to be something that I LOVE rather than what makes the big bucks. I’m not a fan of drama so I tend to be good at not making a big deal out of nothing.

    Those are my pink gloves. Those are the pink gloves that I COULD NOT put on when I was in junior high or high school. Or, heck, even the first year of university. But within the past two years especially my pink gloves have been pulled on more and more of the time. And it’s freakin’ AWESOME.

    Love pink gloves.

  12. Actually, I think I just recently *found* my pink gloves. I as such a “wanna be” when I was younger, but as I age (45 – woohoo!) I find that I care far less about what others think of me, and whether or not I “fit in.” I want to be happy being ME!
    (And I say a thanks every day that my 12 year old dd is exactly the opposite. She’s very much her own person NOW — and could care less if you like it or not! And of course, she’s the popular kid I always wanted to be but wasn’t! Lesson?!)

  13. Oh man do I love her!

    I also now am going to be quieter when my daughter tries to wear weird things out of the house. I did allow that giant tacky hair bow last week. 😉 She’s 10 and it’s already hard for her to get away with things like that without judgement from others (which is why I sometimes stop her from leaving the house in them.)I really can’t stand it when adults judge children for just being themselves and having great imaginations.

    I think right now my pink gloves are my yoga pants. I’d never have been caught out in workout clothes at all even when I was young and thin. And now I just really am more comfortable in those things and prefer it to “real” clothes. I’d rather be comfortable and just go in my yoga pants or my running shorts than please others.

  15. I can imagine the *cluck clucks* if a woman were to be seen wearing her pink gloves. Everyone would feel sorry for her because she obviously isn’t playing with a full deck. Sad.

    This isn’t huge, but my “pink gloves” are my flip-flops & lack of jacket. Since having kiddos, my internal thermostat is always set on “Maximum,” unless there is wind. I hate being hot and sweaty, unless I’m exercising. So I wear my flip-flops 11 months out of the year & rarely wear a jacket, maybe just a sweater. There is one woman (who is a size -2 & about 80 years old), I love her, but she ALWAYS, ALWAYS comments on my lack of weather-appropriate clothes and shoes. It used to bug. Not so much anymore. I’ll wear what makes me comfortable & not sweaty, thankyouverymuch!

  16. I hope that she NEVER loses the ability to want to do exactly what makes her happy 🙂 I dont know when it is that we lose that spark or spunk, but it’s so sweet to see in children! I dont remember what my version of pink gloves were, but I love seeing my step-daughter where 87 different patterns (at once!) because it makes her happy and feel “punk rock” lol.

  17. Thank you for this. I have been struggling w/ my 9 yo’s need to fit in and how to help her understand that she is perfect just the way she is. It doesn’t matter what others think of you, YOU are a wonderful YOU and You are not like anyone else. Once we can embrace that our life is so much less complicated.

    Bravo for raising your daughter to accept who she is, pink gloves and all.

  18. My pink gloves used to be my heels and constant disregard for the fact that for most occassions I was completely overdressed. I used to be super girly and love a good dress and heels even for the grocery store. Anymore though, between clients, my own workouts and general comfort needed to keep up with my busy toddler my “uniform” has turned from unappologitically “fab” to yoga pants all day everyday. This is inspiring me to find more moments and opportunities to put my “gloves” back on and remember how I felt when I had no regard for comfort or appropriate.

    My 2 year old has a plethora of “pink gloves” including her “princess blue one” outfit (snow white halloween costume), tiara, princess wands, Grandmas old watches, Mommy’s shoes, blatant disregard for color coordination and her firemans hat. Hands down, kids out “pink gloves” us all. Lots to learn from our kiddos!

    Great post!

  20. Wow, that’s so beautiful, lady, and your daughter’s pink glove wearing is nauseatingly adorable to me too!! Awww so freaking sweet.

    I’m pretty sure I have tons of pink gloves…need to think about that. Thanks for sharing that. I love it!

  22. LOVE this so much, Miz. Brought tears to my eyes. Like others said, I will be pondering today. But also, like others said, it just might be a combination of doing/saying exactly what I think. When I turned 50, it was like a light bulb turned on in my head. I’M FIFTY YEARS OLD, you can’t tell me how to think, or some other such thought would frequently run through my mind.

    Thanks for sharing your Tornado with us.

  23. That is AWESOME. I think she really looks rocking in those pink gloves. I’d say my pink gloves are bows. I always wore bows in my hair growing up, through high school cheerleading and for my sorority in college. Now I think they’re childish…but I still secretly love them. I wear them when we do launches at the gym.

  24. OMG I love, love this post. Not only the message, but the whole way it builds around those gloves. I got goose bumps reading.

    So, ironically considering my recent video dread post, I often go out and about in a way that would have made me cringe with embarrassment once upon a time. Hair un-blown-fried in a wild mess, no make-up, frumpy clothes. BUT, it is not pink gloves as much as it is laziness. But it all makes me think that I need to do whatever it is for ME!

  25. I have been really down lately and needed this, Miz.

    I must find my pink gloves this weekend.

    Self-exploration time.

  26. What a sweet and thought proviking post!

    Yes, we do need more moms like you. Giving her the freedom to wear that out of the house and letting her have joy in something so simple is priceless.

  27. Great post!!!!!!

    I need to get me some pink gloves 😉 I try hard to be me and not worry about what others will think of me. It is hard, but as I get older, I do feel me changing in a good way.
    I am proud to be me 🙂

    Your daughters is adorable!!

  28. I LOVE this story so much. Priceless photos too.

    My pink gloves? A tiara and anything else that sparkles. I love sparkles. Can’t get enough of them. I’d wear lights and sparkles every day if I could. I’d look like a float in a parade but I’d love it. Does that make me weird? Good. 🙂

    PS Sometimes I do wear sparklies and lights. shhhh.

  29. Oh, I can totally relate. When I was six Mom (who probably remembered her “pink glove days”) allowed me to wear my new red-velvet-with-white-rabbit-fur-trim slippers to school with my red skirt and white blouse. I knew I was soooo cool.

    My next red-slipper-white-fur-trim activity is making a video for my new blog.

  30. That’s so adorable! I retired my pink gloves a long time ago. Although now, what with my burning feet, my flip flops are becoming my pink gloves. Come winter, I’ll firmly be in the “I don’t care if you think I’m crazy for wearing sandals in the snow” camp.

  31. I love this post so much!!! I think we are never truly free until we can stop caring what people think. I had blue hair once, a nose ring and all of that but what it really comes down to for me is enjoying myself at the beach wearing a bathing suit or going to yoga and not caring that I’m overweight. Of course I’m trying not to be overweight but I might as well enjoy the journey 🙂

  32. My pink gloves are my spandex running shorts. I used to wear shorts on top of them because I “thought” I was worried what someone might think of my juicy……this past year I realized I couldn’t give two sh*ts what someone thinks if they see me running in them because I’m running while they are sitting in a chair in the driveway watching me. Booya!

  33. My pink gloves are actually pants with sparkle patches on the back pockets. Or sparkle butt, as my husband says. I am still on the lookout for these pants.

    My husband seems to think that I shouldn’t wear sparkle butt pants in my 40s, but I disagree and will buy them when I find them! Or I may have to put my own patches on.

  34. Great post! I like to wear short-sleeved shirts over long-sleeved shirts, with unusual color combinations. I tried to stop myself a while back because I thought I was getting too old for that look, but it just makes me feel cheerful so I decided I didn’t care if it wasn’t “appropriate.”

  35. Holy Smokes Miz. I needed this so much today. Such a great message for me to be who I am. And honestly, amazingly written.

    My pink gloves are actually the way I dress. I used to do all of my clothes shopping at salvation army and a bunch of places like that. I liked that the clothes were cheap but more because I marched to the beat of my own fashion drum. I loved wearing clothes that were “vintage” but probably described by most as damn ugly 🙂 I can’t tell you how ecstatic I was when an old guy in my neighborhood died and his widow gave me ALL of his old clothes. Suits, poly shirts, the whole thing. Then I got fat and got corporate and I couldn’t buy those types of clothes anymore. The fat excuse is gone and hopefully I’ll be in a situation where I dictate “appropriate workplace attire” soon. 😉

    Seriously, thanks for this!

  36. Go Tornado!

    My pink gloves are running tights and bucket fishing hats. I used to wear them all the time when I was young/teenager. I got away from spandex for a while, but the running tights are back, baby! I just need to find some (affordable!) in wild colors. As for bucket hats, well, they no longer fit over my big old head of hair, so maybe my ‘normous dreads are my new bucket hat of rebellion??

  38. My snowman tea cup I use all year long and my fuzzy pink socks are the only two I can think of at the moment. But after seeing little miss tornado I wanted my own pink rubber gloves lol or better yet to buy a pair for my 13 yr old son because loading the dishwasher grosses him out lol. If I do buy him a pair I will be sure to post a picture of him using them proudly because he definitely doesn’t give a hoot what people think lol. Thanks for all your comments lately and for your continue support and love around blog world, you are the pair of pink gloves we all want to keep close to our hearts *hugs*.

  39. Love it! It’s funny how we encourage being an individual in our children & not succumb to peer pressure, yet we lose that ourselves along the way. Tattoos are definitely one of my pink gloves, along with some other ideas about what women are supposed to be/look like. Speaking of tats…still conjuring up the next one! 😉

  41. With G-d’s grace and good health, we will be able to do what we want again, once we are over 75. Little kids and the elderly can get away with saying and doing what no one else can.

    Not sure I remember what my pink gloves were. I have a strange feeling it is the dreams I gave up.

  43. This post has been on my mind all day and God bless you for that, Miz! Really. When I first read it, it reminded me of a conversation my mom and I were having last night about finally being old enough to just ‘be us’ and not give patooey what others think and isn’t it so freeing?? YES!!

    And as your words have gelled in my head through the hours of my day …I’ve processed what I’ve been feeling enough today to just sit up and pull myself up by my bootstraps and not get so wrapped up in other people’s emotions and such and GET ON WITH my own day! Emotions (and sucking in other people’s) really knocks me down a lot. Well, this afternoon – I’ve knocked myself free! Just for today, you know.

    Growing up is hard work.

  45. I’ve NEVER had pink gloves. I’ve never been able to just feel free to do what I wanted and not give a damn. I care way too much. WAY too much. It’s crazy. I love this post and think I’m going to link it on my blog tonight. I must find a way to have my pink gloves.

  46. Give her 70 years, and I do believe she is destined to become one of those ‘red hat ladies’ who wear purple suits with their red hats and dare anyone to tell them it’s odd.

    Me? I recently added a pair of zebra-striped rain boots to my wish list. I dare anyone to tell me I look odd in them. 🙂

  47. My pink gloves: My body. At this point, with dealing with a child who’s newly diagnosed as autistic, keeping him from suicide, being the only in this house who has any sense of responsibility or paying bills or feeding the livestock… etc… so right now, I really don’t care what people think of me and that I’m really overweight. Or that I haven’t been “dieting” since early November. I’m just concentrating on keeping my kid from killing himself, and keep the household bills paid and animals alive.

    Keep us in your thoughts, tho. Really need it. Vee at http://veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com

  48. Carla, once again, a absolutely cuter than cute post with a message too! I do have to say that Tornado is cuter than cute & so loved all the pics of her in pink gloves…

    BUT, you are so right! I just commented on Lance’s blog about how I always seem to take the safer route.. I do think I have lost my pink gloves & need to find them! I want to say that they are not caring about what others think about me BUT I can remember back to when I was just 7 years or so & coring.. now that is scary! I am worried I had no pink gloves!

    Thank you for making me think!

  50. I have a few of them. I have a vest with a pointed elven hood. When it’s cold and I put the hood on it points out behind my head. Usually I wear arms warmers with it.

    I also have a long coat with a rediculous wool colour made of many stripes. I love it…it’s my technicolour dreamcoat. It’s not very warm so it has a narrow wearing time but I love to pull it out when I can.

    I and my husband think they look great…but the looks I get for both are fantastic. He heh 🙂

  51. Hmmm….another fave post. Ranks right up there with the all time fave for me. First – because pink is the color of the Gods. I mean I’m sure that God wears pink gloves or socks or something. Second – because I love that you saw behind how cute it was. And yah – I’m pretty sure my tats are mine. No one can take them. People frown on them, my parents hate them…but they are MINE and my God I love them. They are mine until they lay me in the ground whether society likes them or not. Great Great Post!

  52. My pink gloves are … leg hair. Sometimes I let it grow and don’t care what y’all think. Sometimes I shave it off. But I would like to just not be aware of it at all.

  54. Ooh, as someone who once wore very large orange gloves (they don’t have pink gloves in the cannery) for a summer I can appreciate how sweltering the tornado’s hands were wearing those pretty pink gloves.

    Also, the library employee in me would squeal and try to take a picture of any child who came into the library wearing gloves.

    My pink gloves are: saying what is on my mind, wearing uncoventional clothing/make up/hair color, and full expressing my likes and hobbies.

  55. Beautiful! I love how children do what they want. I don’t know if I ever had that pink glove thing growing up. Sigh, sad really isn’t it?

    Now at 51 years young, I dress the way I want to. I love to dress nice, sometimes people will ask me where are you going today, no where, I just like to look nice. My mom told me when I was in my mid 40’s that longer hair on someone “my age” was not becoming. I cut it short. I regretted it, so now I have longer hair again. I don’t care that I’m 51, I like my hair shoulder length, maybe it’s my pink gloves!

  56. I’ve tried to comment several times today but kept getting interrupted…and had a frustrating phone conversation with a family member. Coming back here and viewing the pictures again has helped to put me back in a happy place. So thank you for posting them. 🙂

    I think I’m actually in the throes of my pink glove phase in that I go all out in specifically choosing and wearing fun colors in my running outfits – socks, visors, shirts – everything is bright and matches and yes I might look like a less-than-serious athlete, but it makes me happy.

  59. Wow. Another great post. You have the best gift for spinning a cute story into an epiphany, Miz!

    Hmmmm…my pink gloves? Not sure; many things that would be other people’s “pink gloves” are ones I wear without much thought (pseudo-Crocs with socks in public, “whoops – winter legs!” – you get the idea). I think my true “pink gloves” are more internal stuff, maybe more obvious to me stuff, like being okay that I am sort of shy in social situations and the like.

    I think it might be fun to start wearing hats again, though.

  60. ooooh ooooh I just remembered another one – a winnie the pooh santa hat I wear almost every day in the season. Have worn it to school functions, restaurants,etc. Yay POOH!

  62. I just recently found that I really like going to synagogue. Not all the time, about once a week. B!ut I really like to sing there. Kind of loud. My daughter wont sit next to me. Think pink!

  64. First of all, I wore my Wonder Woman underoos out when I was a kid. It’s amazing the dexterity of fashion and poise that come with childhood. I think for me now, my pink gloves are poetry and I often have to make time to put them on.

  65. That is too freaking cute! And good on you for making her earn them!

    My pink gloves? As a child, dressing up as a princess constantly. Seriously, I wouldn’t leave the house unless I was in a dress. Somewhere around the age of 8 I grew out of the dresses, but I still want to be a princess.

    My pink gloves of late have been wearing gear (shirts, etc) from my alma mater, as I now live in the rival college town. In some sickening desire to blend in, I haven’t proudly sported my green and gold in public since August. That’s going to change today. So, thank you Tornado and your pink gloves for inspiring a grown woman to be proud to be a Wildcat behind Husky enemy lines!

  66. I’m noticing a trend in this comment section (which I am about to join) that we, as grown women, don’t speak our minds often enough (if at all) because we are afraid of the way other people will view us.

    I fall into this category ALL too often. It hurts my heart sometimes that I stay quiet when I want to scream. I hold back my opinions when others are shouting them from the roof tops. I shake my head in agreement when in reality I think ** Jane ** is COMPLETELY wrong.

    It is HIGH TIME that I use my voice for what it is and speak up not caring how others will view me when I’m finished. I often times am too afraid of offending people. I am too nice at other times. I take s**t so as not to stir up conflict.

    That is my “pink glove” and I want them back damn it!

  67. I have a propensity to tell people “the answer” rather than “the socially acceptable thing I’m supposed to say.”

    If you call me and ask “How are you?” I will assume you *want to know how I am so I will tell you.* Sometimes the answer is “Fine, thanks” because I am fine, thanks, but it’s “I just spent twenty minutes digging a splinter out of my toe. Who knew hardwood flooring this old could suddenly attack?”

    This used to positively MORTIFY my poor mother! Here she was, dealing with a small child who insisted on telling people the ugly truth, not the ceremonial response!

    I have learned tact (the hard way.) But I don’t regret that I tend to call it like I see it and I don’t regret that I give people the consideration of giving them a real answer when they ask me things like “how are you?”

  68. When I was a teenager, I traveled with my Girl Scout troup to Mexico. I was sick on a day when everyone went to the silver mines. So, one of the moms took some of my money and bought earrings for me. She thought they were maple leaves…turns out they were marijuana. I LOVED those earrings (and no, I didn’t actually smoke pot). I wore them whenever I felt like showing a little attitude. Not everyone noticed, but I knew I had them on. That was the start of my small rebellions against what I was “supposed to” do and be. Now, I often choose funky shoes or socks, or an edgy shirt for the same purpose. And, interestingly enough, I have been self employed for over 5 years now, and my husband stays at home with our three kids. Little did I know as a teen where I would end up. Believe in yourself and show the world who you REALLY are.

  69. while i don’t doubt that i have pink gloves, i don’t know what they are. oh well. until i read this post i thought they were something to be ashamed of, but now i guess everyone has them. i guess that is kinda naive of me, but oh well. thanks for a great post.

  70. I have those exact pink gloves. Tornado and I have good taste 😉 I’m one who worries what others think, except when it comes to my family…I definitely swim against the current around here by homeschooling, embracing being a stay at home mom, etc. NOT the cool thing to do in my ‘hood.

  71. I adore getting dressed up ridiculously and going out. Always have. It was something that I was really deprived of when I was heavy, but now I adore getting dressed up in fun, fuzzy, shiny, sparkly, and/or crazy stuff.

  72. Love how my kids can be themselves. Unfortunately, it’s other kids that start making them self conscious.

    My pink gloves: I wear neon shirts to the gym EVERYDAY!

  73. Hats. 1940s hats – I wish hats would come back in fashion. I wish we could all don hats and gloves whenever we went out.
    I seriously believe I was born in the wrong decade.

  74. Oh, the Tornado is so so beautiful. And I don’t mean that in a physical-look-how-pretty-she-is way (although she is that too!) but in a glows-from-the-inside kind of beauty. The kind you have when you are secure in someone else’s love. The kind where you are secure in your own self-love. You’re right – somewhere along the way most of us lose that beauty. I know I have. I’m honestly not sure what my pink gloves are – maybe my honesty?

    And I love the juxtaposition of her adult-sized washing gloves with the child-sized sippy cup. That picture needs to be a painting! Or at least on your wall:)

  76. my hair is my pink gloves.

    its too short for my fat face and broad shoulders. Its pitch black which is no where near my natural colour (which i assume by now is grey).

    i. don’t. care.

    they are my pink gloves dammit and i wear it because it makes me feel like i don’t care about what people think about anything I have going on from the hairline down;)
    xo

  78. Very nice post.

    My pink gloves = my hair (or lack of it).

    I’d have to say that cutting my hair off definitely makes it in the top ten of my power *statements*…

  80. I don’t remember as a child, but I did love when I had my nose pierced when I was 36 years old. I got some questions at work, but it was no big deal. I also once early in my career went around work with a pretty necklace that was really holding a bottle of bubbles and a wand for blowing them! No one knew until I showed them, it just looked so pretty!

    I had to take my nose ring out for an emergency surgery and could never get it back in, it closed up too fast, but I am planning on getting my first tattoo this winter at the age of 39. I think I’ve had enough time to decide what I want.

    BTW, I have a set of gloves to wash dishes with that have bright-colored lace on the top of arm part and it matches the apron I love to wear when I’m cooking!

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