pretty isn't enough

my friend and mentor and acting coach e was at the IT awards ceremony the other night. she could only stop by for a bit, but it meant so much to have her there...without her, size ate never would have been. she really helped me get it all out of my whirling dervish of a noggin. she also convinced me that my story was worthy of being told...and heard.

bless her.

while we were at the bar, she told me a story about her daughter, t, a delicate little flower of a girl that she adopted about a year ago from a Russian orphanage. when t came to this country, she knew no english. she is now fluent. t is also a very pretty little girl, and as we all know, when you are a little girl and pretty, people will tell you this all of the time, as if, this is your only redeeming characteristic. e does her best to counter it with other compliments, but this is America after all...

the other day, t came home from school, and exclaimed to e:

"The teacher said I was very, very pretty, Mommy."

"T, now you know that there are more important things than being pretty."

"I know, Mommy. Like being beautiful."

this, coming from a 4-year old.

lord help us.