Monday, February 3, 2025

Restoring the natural rhythm of growing up


All kids deserve the chance to go through life’s natural phases and become the best version of themselves. Just ask the former tomboy who’s now my wife.

If my wife were growing up today, she would be told she’s a boy.

My wife wasn’t a girly-girl when she was a kid. Just the opposite. She was a tomboy.

When she made friends, they were rarely other girls. When she played sports, it was only with boys. And when it came time to receive her First Communion in second grade? She cried when her mom showed her the beautiful white dress, and she insisted on wearing her soccer uniform with cleats to boot.

My wife’s tomboy phase lasted throughout grade school. Years later, after a rewarding college soccer career, she married me, we started a family together, and now at the age of 37, she looks back on her childhood with fondness and laughter. She’s far from alone. A lot of other girls went through the same phase, including some friends we’ve made as adults. They have no regrets about having been tomboys, even as they have no desire to go back.

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