Being a Girly-Girl

This is sort of a weird post for me.
My entire life, I have been the tomboy type girl. Yes, I had always had long hair, and I liked to curl my hair and paint my nails and stuff like that. But I played basketball, not Barbie. I had Hot Wheels, not Pound Puppies. (My only exception to this rule was that I always loved baby dolls. In fact, I am looking at my first baby doll, Rosie, right now. She sits on my desk!) I broke more eyeglasses playing softball than my mother cares to remember. I wore jeans and tshirts, generally with sports motifs. When I got to my teenage years, those sports shirts morphed into black band shirts, specifically Metallica, Guns n Roses, and other heavy metal bands. For me to wear a dress or skirt meant it was forced on me.
As I've gotten older, I've been shocked to find myself changing. I realized that black was not the most flattering color on me. I found that I looked tired and it emphasized my under-eye circles more than I liked. I switched to wearing red and blue, and the compliments came bursting forth. Encouraged, I let my hair grow long again. More compliments. Then I tried simple make up. I started getting carded when I went to the store to buy Mr. R his beer, so I definitely liked that, especially after age 30! I stopped wearing men's shoes and started wearing more delicate sandals and shoes. I've still been wearing pants, but I switched to dressier pants instead of sweats and jeans. But I do have some skirts, and Mr. R has been encouraging me in my newfound femininity. I have one long tan suede skirt that he requests when he comes home from a long trip. I still have a few black blouses, I just make sure I don't wear black pants or skirts with it, so I don't look like I'm heading for a funeral.
Sometimes growing up is weird. Even 5 to 10 years ago, if you had asked me if I was going to give up my band shirts and tight jeans, I would have laughed. Now I don't even look at them anymore. In fact, I gave all my band shirts to Missy (she says they're vintage...thanks for making me feel old!) and have been buying myself new flattering clothes with more womanly flair. I'm not talking old lady clothes. I will not be wearing a matching hat with gloves to church any time soon. Or orthopedic shoes. I've just become more comfortable with the idea that God designed me as a woman, and that design was not a mistake.