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| The Mirror by Renae Cane |
| Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Stephanie who was very pretty and loved getting all dressed up. Every day, she would fix up her beautiful, wavy brown hair with ribbons, scrunchies, or barettes. She would always look in the mirror right before she went out the door to make sure she looked perfect. She loved to wear dresses with matching socks and shoes and purse and hat. She liked to play with other kids, but she preferred games that didn't get her clothes dirty. She was so formal, she didn't let anyone call her Steffie except her mother. One day, her mother said, "Steffie, we're going swimming. I got you a new bathing suit." But they didn't drive to a swimming pool; they walked down the road to a pond she had never seen. Her mother ran into the water, splashing water everywhere, but Stephanie barely got her knees wet. She yelled, "Mother, I got mud between my toes. Yuck!" So her mother swam over, picked her up, saying "There's my baby girl" just like when Steffie was 3 years old, and took her out to the deeper part of the pond, There was a big platform with a ladder, and they climbed up. They held hands and jumped in, kicked and swam and floated on top of the water. The water really felt good, once Steffie got used to the murkiness at the bottom. Within a few minutes, several other kids came in and they had a great afternoon. A few days later, Steffie's mother said, "We're going to go hiking tomorrow. I bought you these new boots so you don't slip." Steffie looked at the boots and said, 'I can't wear those ugly things." Her mother didn't get offended, she just replied "Okay, I'll just put them in your backpack." They drove to a wilderness park, and Steffie whined, "Couldn't we just sit on a blanket and have a picnic?" Her mother smiled and said, "That comes later. Let's get going!" Steffie stubbornly refused to put on shoes that didn't match her outfit. She started hiking in her patent leather dress shoes, but soon she was slipping, her feet started hurting, and her hat with the ribbons kept falling sideways. Her mother kept stopping to look at things and was enjoying the walk so much, Steffie decided not to be a grump. Soon, she put on her boots and took the fancy ribbons around her hat and tied them under her chin so she could use both hands to climb when the trail got too steep. As they climbed, her mother pointed out different kinds of birds and trees and flowers. Soon Steffie was pointing out animal tracks and holes that might be homes for little beasties. When they reached the top of the hill, Steffie gasped, "It's beautiful up here!" Her mother agreed as she opened her big backpack and took out a bag with their picnic lunch and some water. They enjoyed looking around and seeing the town all around them. When Steffie got home, she said, "Daddy, we climbed a big hill today!" She told him about all the wonderful things they saw, and she didn't say a word about her clothes, for once. |
| Mother told her, "We're going to a special school today. They're having a festival, and I promised to help. Steffie said, "Oh boy! I know just what to wear." When they got to the school, Steffie saw that some students walked on twisted legs aided by crutches, others were in wheelchairs, some had short arms or no arms, and one little boy scooted around on a skateboard because he had no legs. They were all excited about the celebration, and Steffie's mother helped several children who were trying to set up a booth. Steffie looked at her mother, a little envious at how easily she got along with the children, laughing with them as if she didn't even notice how different they were from "normal" children. Steffie decided to go for a walk around the school grounds. She was confused, and she realized it was because those kids didn't even try to be "perfect". How could they stand themselves, knowing how they looked? Didn't they have a mirror? Her mother found her sitting next to the lake. "Come here and look in the water. Can you see yourself, like in the mirror?" Stephanie nodded. Mother continued, "The person you see in the mirror is just like a photograph. It is just a flat picture. You are much, much bigger and more beautiful than anything you see in a mirror. Beauty is not about wearing the right clothes or having your hair a certain way or looking like someone on TV. It comes from how you feel about yourself as a person, how you treat other people, and about the way you light up from the inside. You have to look beyond your body to see how awesome you really are. Look in the eyes of someone who loves you even when you're sick, scared, or unhappy, and you will see your true self." Mother held Steffie's hands so she would look at her, then kissed her head and left her to think. From then on, Steffie was able to do many things without caring how she looked doing them. She tried new things and didn't care if she looked funny or silly, so she learned all kinds of things she never knew she could do, like skating and gymnastics and building huge sand empires and juggling. When she saw other kids who were scared of being laughed at, she would tell them how many times she had to fall before she could walk. She started an optimist group for kids in her school to help them get past the "image" thing and learned that giving makes you really beautiful. |