* My daughter is a doll :)

My youngest daughter is adorable. Both of my daughters are beautiful, but for some reason my youngest is frequently referred to as "a doll". This is most assuredly a compliment, one that she grins at every time someone says it to her. I think she thinks of her baby dolls at home, and just assumes this means everyone loves her as much as she loves her babies. Not that they don't, but it is a surface only kind of compliment. Once upon a time I responded with a smile and agreement. Nowadays, not so much. 

My daughter may have porcelain fair skin, and beautiful as glass blue eyes, as well as hair so blonde it looks like barely their wisps of silk. To me though, this does not make her a doll. Yes, she looks like one, and when she smiles it will melt your heart. But not-so-deep down inside she is no doll. In fact one might say some days that she is almost possessed. By something not pure and innocent, but perhaps evil.... She is sneaky, she is sly, quiet, and even a little terrifying sometimes. Because even as she does something purely mean (like kicking her sister in the face or throwing the cat across the room) she smiles. That doll face grin everyone associates with her golden child looks is the look she uses when she is doing something wrong. Not many children laugh as they smack a person, but my monster does. 

Once upon a time I thought my oldest would be my trouble maker. Alas, I was wrong. While she is high energy and unfailingly exhaustive to be around, she has long since left behind the traits of being mean for the fun of it. Perhaps it is a phase that all children go through, before they learn what it really means to be cruel to another living being. My oldest monster has a sweet side, an inquisitive and beautiful face, and a curiosity for learning new things. She must be Provoked to be mean. Not that she doesn't have her moments of teasing her sister or playing to rough with the animals, but for the most part she's not intentionally cruel.

So when people look at my youngest and tell me she is a doll, I think "Why yes, if you mean a doll like the Bride of Chuckie." Because that I understand. But a porcelain, mindless beauty...Oh no, she's not that. She is very much a sneaky, mindful, sometimes Eeee-vil little trickster. and I want to point at her older sister and say, "Both my girls are brainy beauties, not just an ornament on a shelf."

Then again, why ruin their adorable appeal?