Pinking out: Ban on girlish color backfires

My best efforts to ensure my little girl would not live in a sea of pink were useless. She loves pink. She lives pink. She wants pink.

I am reminded of her love for pink right now as I sit in the midst of pink flowers, pink glitter, pink paper, pink .... Well you get the idea.  She is hundreds of miles away.  I am in crafting, creating small pieces of pink for her upcoming wedding.

I wanted her to live in a world without stereotypes. But I knew pink was her color of choice early on just by looking at her toys or the clothes she picked out.

At least my effort to ensure she would know she could be anyone or anything she wanted to be turned out better. Right?

Certainly, you need to be a strong woman to move to another state permanently.

Certainly, you need to be a thinking woman to succeed in business -- she's a store manager in Tennessee.

Certainly, you need to be a wise woman to know sometimes you need to start over. She now volunteers at a hospital and will go back to college this fall for a few classes needed before embarking on a venture to become a physician's assistant.

First, though, there's a pink and aqua wedding in Tennessee. Pink bridesmaids' dresses. Pink bouquets. Pink glitter, pink ribbons, pink this and pink that. Even the white wedding cake will showcase some pink -- in the form of the pink cancer ribbons.

After the wedding, she'll go to school and work. 

After the wedding, I'll donate any and all pink flowers, fabric, ribbon and other craft leftovers to help an area breast cancer walking group raise money.

After the wedding, I'll try to figure out why I ever thought pink wasn't a good color for girls.