Nerf Guns are for Girls

For weeks, Jojo was convincing me that Sabina wanted a Nerf gun for her 9th birthday.

My daughter is a girly girl. Her first love was Barbie back when she was 3. So her doting older sister dutifully handed down the much-beloved Barbie house, plus her well-worn Barbie collection. Every gift, pasalubong and reward was Barbie, until Sabina was swimming in the darn doll. [Funny thing was, I hated Barbies when I was small. I related better with my Ken doll, and shaved off and beheaded my 2 Barbies. I know, I need help :?]

At four, Sabina switched to Bratz, when Marielle handed her an entire collection of probably 8 dolls, plus accessories. Then back to Barbie, whenever a new cartoon came out with the complementary Barbie line... princesses with twirling skirts, fairies in an assortment of wings.

At six, she went into her Polly Pocket stage when her cousin Ali handed her a trunk full of Polly dolls, clothes, houses, shops, cars, etc. We filled up a suitcase and brought the collection back to Penang. Since then, on every trip abroad, her dad brought home "just one more". Considering that the Polly lives up to its name of being pocket-sized, and its accessories supposedly minute to match, we ended up accumulating two trunks full.

Finally, we come to Legos, that timeless toy that has been passed down from forever. I had them, my older kids swam in them, and at 8, Sabina asked her Papa to bring home the large pirate ship from one of his trips to the US.

So I should have been forewarned that the trend was toward boy-toys. At first, I chided Jojo that he was buying the gift for himself. I had wanted to save the money for a guitar instead, because she was starting to play her brother's big guitars. I was doubtful till the very end as we were having the guns wrapped at the store. Until I heard that small voice in the back of my head say, "She'll never be this age again. She won't be playing these games for much longer."

And so her squeals of laughter, flushed face, proclamations of "I really love my guns" and "All of you need to buy your own guns too" fill our house. In the end, as much as Sabina loved her girly toys, she loves playing with her brothers and dad even more.


P.S. Not to worry, her birthday party is "Fashion Show" themed.