“Mommy, what’s on the other side of the moon?” she asked.
“Oh, Ava,” I stammered. “There’s so much beyond the moon. Stars and planets and galaxies and maybe other worlds just like Earth.”
“Can I go there someday, Mommy?”
I was shocked and humbled by her interest. I managed to say, “Of course you can, sweetheart. You can do anything you want.”
It was so profound for a four year old. And innocent at the same time. Her dad and I have worked for the US space program for the past 15 years so she’s been to a shuttle launch, NASA’s Mission Control and has met several astronauts. We even share our backyard fence with one. I just never thought that she really paid that much attention to all of this spacey stuff.
Why? Well, she’s a girly girl. The girliest girl I’ve ever seen. She wears tiaras to the grocery store and tutus to the movies. I’m guilty of enabling this behavior, but she’s painfully cute and most of it came naturally without my gross supply of all things princess.
As I pushed her in the swing that afternoon, watching her strawberry blonde hair blow wildly with each to and fro, I realized there’s no reason she can’t be both girly and nerdy. I am. Who knows where it will take her – maybe the other side of the moon?
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