William Beausay - Girls!: Helping Your Little Girl Become an Extraordinary Woman

God made the world with its towering trees,

majestic mountains and restless seas, then paused and said,

It needs one more thingsomeone to laugh and dance and sing,

to walk in the woods and gather flowers,

to commune with nature in the quiet hours.

So God made little girls with laughing eyes and bouncing curls,

with joyful hearts and infectious smiles,

enchanting ways and feminine wiles,

and when hed completed the task hed begun

he was pleased and proud of the work hed done.

For the world, when seen through little girls eyes,

greatly resembles paradise.

Why God Made Little Girls
Author unknown

The topic of girls is so delightfully explosive, and were so thankful to be lighting the wick! Weve waited a long time to write this new, fresh map for developing excellent girls. Its been a journey for us but one thats led back to a practical and sensible style of childrearing. Simplicity always is best.

Have you ever met a young woman and been so impressed that youve said to yourself, Ive got to meet this girls mother! We have! In our experience as both professionals and parents, weve met many women whove demonstrated personal excellence through the firstfruits of their labors: their daughters.

Weve taken an unusual step. Weve asked several of those mothers to help us write this book! In the following pages you will find the heart and soul of these twenty-five women. Theyre just like the rest of us, representing a range of divergent economic, educational, ethnic, political, and religious persuasions. But one thread unites them: Each raised a girl that any of us would call a winner. These women are the Girls! Team, and youll be hearing a lot from them. Theyve spawned and refined all of the pages you are about to read. Theyve guaranteed that this book would be smart, effective, and workable.

We are hardly ever going to mention boys in this book. You will, however, find yourself naturally comparing boys and girls many times. Your thoughts will run something like, Well, I know boys who do the same things , or My son is just like that, too. Girls and boys share all traits; however, some traits are more pronounced in girls than in boys. We would like to encourage you to think about girls on their own terms while reading this book. Many of the ideas we discuss could be applied to boys, but theres already a great book out on that topic! Girls are unique, and you would be wise to focus on those singular qualities defining them.

We have made this book practical. If youre expecting an extensive bibliographic analysis, doctoral level cunning, or various styles of intellectual swordplay, youre on the wrong bus! We have only one objective: to make our understanding of girls accessible to anyone wishing to help a girl seize her greatest potential. Parents who are devoted, capable, and inspired can do that.

For the purposes of this book, girls will be defined as those females who are aged four through the onset of puberty. Prior to that age they are babies, and after that time they are young women. Besides, this swath of life is large enough and easily complex enough to keep our tongues wagging and keyboards clattering for a long time.

We are delighted that youre joining us on this journey. We firmly believe that some things in life should simply be enjoyed. When it comes to simple enjoyment, raising girls is in a class by itself. Nothing in the world is more precious than the fountain of love and warmth bubbling from these lovely little creatures. Today brims with priceless moments we must stop and savor. This is your chance to make your little girl thankful she has you for a parent!

acknowledgments

Creating a book like this requires the efforts and input of some key players. Weve been blessed with not one but several of these folks whove acted not only as sounding boards but magnifiers as well. These friends have broadened and enriched our understanding by fearlessly sharpening our ideas and helping press out the wrinkles. We owe them each a sincere thanks.

Several stand out. First, thanks to Bill Petersen and his fine staff at Baker Book House. Theyve encouraged us along this entire trail and have been expert in helping capture our vision and love. Thanks as well to Dan and Shelly Schaefer, Steve and Marcia Milanowski, Frank and Carla Redmond, Elaine Heisman, and Karen and Matt Godsil. Your faithful friendship and encouragement over the years have blessed us. Youve stimulated us to grow and think in new ways.

I (Kathi) am grateful to my parents, Jim and Dorothy Boulton, for providing me with a girlhood full of fun, love, and family times. Your continual love and encouragement has seen me through lifes joys and struggles. Thanks for believing in me.

These acknowledgments wouldnt be complete without mentioning our real source of passion: Jake, Jessie, and Zac. Our love for you is beyond words. You all make us swell with pride, cry with concern, laugh with pleasure, and beam with enjoyment. Whether you will ever change the world we dont know. All we know is that youve changed ours. Thank you.

Wed like to offer a special thanks to all the women serving on the Girls! Team who contributed to this book. Through the eyes of you few we were able to see through the eyes of millions. You made plain to us what has been for a long time hidden, and we deeply appreciate your help. You will find your stories and yourselves here.

Members of the Girls! Team:

Dee Ann Scheider

Deborah Warner

Karen Godsil

Mary Rumschlag

Dorothy Boulton

Milane Beausay

Shelly Schaefer

Alice Rogers

Carol Derkin

Lorrie Fox

Leslie Boudouris

Dian Kwiatkowski

Linda Toepfer

Elaine Heisman

Patricia Godsil

Lois Whitmer

Mary Kate Hafemann

parental discretion advised

Girls! Girls! Girls!

There they were, perched like three chirpy little chickadees on our couch. They were colorful, bright, bubbly, and totally alivemy (Bills) first little band of examinees ready to share with me the magic and mystery of girlhood! Oh sure, they were only seven years old and more adorable than cooperative, but so what? Inside these little women was the answer to a puzzling question I longed to answer: Whats it like to be a girl? I just needed the right key to unlock the right vaults.

They initiated the talk. If you want to know about girls, well, we love to laugh and fight, said the most excitable of the three. Being the fathead that I am, I scrambled to take notes on every word instead of interpreting the clear message that this would be a tough interview.

I replied very seriously, I need you to tell me what its like being a girl.

Youll have to guess what, chicken butt!! Hee hee hee, hoo hoo, hee hee.

I put my pen down. Ahem. Lets try this again.... What do you most like about girlhood?

Nice try, chicken thigh!! Haaaa! haaaa! Hee hee hee, hoo hoo hoo, hee hoo haa.

Strike two. This interview was beginning to feel like a car careening sideways on ice. But, hey, Im a hip father of the 90s; I can go with the flow! Lets just be cool and try this one more time , I thought. Maybe its the timing of the questions.

So, what kinds of things do girls like to do? I carefully plied.

We do flips, chicken lips!! Ba, haaaaaaaaaaaa!! Hee hee hoooo ha ha ha.

Oh, man! My little darlings were reduced to a howling bevy of hyenas, rolling around on the couch in teary-eyed, gut-busting laughter, poking, slapping, and screechingall at my expense. My understanding, my research, my knowledge all at stake. I was beat. Oh well, if you cant beat em, join em! Yabba dabba doo! Hoo hoo!