today i told my sweet, cuddly, funny, loving, strong-willed; recently turned 13 year old daughter to floss her teeth. she has braces (which are coming off in a few months) and her gums looked swollen.

her curt response, "stop focusing on what you see on the outside. Roald Dahl (one of her favorite authors - she's an avid reader) said, if you think ugly thoughts, you're going to be ugly. if you think nice thoughts, you'll be pretty".  then she went back to her computer to finish her Sage's Curriculum.

meanwhile i'm like, "what does that quote have to do with your flossing her teeth?!"

still baffled, i researched the actual quote. it is, "if a person has ugly thoughts everyday, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.

a person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. you can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely".

i'm so thankful i introduced the joy of reading to my kids very early on. they can lose themselves in quality literature. and if they stumble across quotes, such as this. words that will help encourage self love and a positive attitude. well then that makes my job of parenting, mothering, mentoring, inspiring a bit easier.

i'm blunt. especially since the stroke. i tend to get right to the point in what i'm trying to say.

i texted my husband, telling him what she had said. i reminded him of the struggles with her. seems if i tell her - honey, that's enough food. somehow she hears me calling her fat. if i say - honey, wash your face, somehow she hears me calling her ugly. if is say - honey, clean your bedroom, somehow she hears me saying, i don't love her.

damn, is there a sugarcoating class for mothers?!

hubby's response, "it's called teenage girl syndrome. it doesn't matter what you say, she is going to interpret it to the extreme".

sigh!

again, i'm happy when she's able to reason her way through a healthier thoughts when in a healthy state of mind. but, according to the warning app on our phones, those days of the month are fastly approaching. i need to find a sugarcoating class quick.