Accomplished and Beautiful

The Today show this morning featured a story on First Lady Michelle Obama and her likely reception in Europe for the G20 conference. Most commentators agreed that the closest First Lady parallel to Michelle was Jacqueline Kennedy. No one, of course, would deny the beauty of Jacqueline, but few spoke of her accomplishments other than perhaps in the areas of fashion and decorating--traditionally accepted feminine areas of domain. Michelle's Harvard education and strong political opinions, as exhibited frequently during the almost ever-continuing campaign, have set her apart from Jacqueline, however. I was reminded of a recent conversation I had with my granddaughter, Caitlyn, who is ten years old.

It was last week, and we were going into Target to look for a sports jersey for her five-year-old brother, Charlie. Caitlyn had just left the mall after spending about three and one-half hours going from store to store and looking at many items that she wanted to buy. She had come away with some cologne from the Bath and Body Shop, a pair of lime green iridescent tennis shoes with contrasting hot pink tights to go with them, several pairs of earrings, and a small purse from Claire's. Caitlyn commented as we walked toward the front of Target, "When I marry, I am going to choose someone that I 'like' but someone who has money so that I can buy whatever I want." Her father immediately chimed in to say, "Why not be independent, have your own career, and then buy what you want for yourself?" I added, "That way you won't have to be dependent upon a man."

In spite of the fact that women have been in professional careers for a number of years, I am still concerned about the view young girls have about their future lives. It is true that in Caitlyn's own family her mother has not worked outside the home full-time for the past ten years. She has always remembered her mother as a homemaker and her father as the breadwinner. Her parents' divorce last fall, however, is likely going to change this scenario. Caitlyn is still working on the idea in her head that a woman, like Michelle Obama, can be both accomplished and beautiful. It's an important lesson.