Candace, one of the bloggers I met in NYC, has some thoughts worthy of pondering in an entry titled "Women do a lot of stupid things to feel beautiful". After a long list of said stupid things that includes overconsumption of alcohol, extreme blisters, starvation, vomiting, and credit card debt, she writes:

And why? All these things do is give us tear lines. They cross our faces with sadnesses that don't belong there. They take the beauty we got here with and chew on it until it's unrecognizable, and then they spit us out on the feet of our fathers, who tried so hard to protect us.

I should mention, because it's relevant in this context, that Candace is a lovely young woman. (I hope the Fatha of da Revolution will not send me to Siberia for noticing.)

There were several interesting comments on the entry, including this one from Missie:

it's always been my hypothesis such woman lacked affirmation from their father at a time when their self-identity, and thus self-esteem, was being established.... i'm very well aware that despite the petty things i do to feel EXTRA beautiful, none the less, I still am because long time ago, my father, through endless compliments and gasps of delights each time he saw me for the first time that day, made feel like i was a bombshell. t[o] solve this dilema, it is my belief, woman realize who made them and therefore rest in the assurance of his great craftmanship.

As a father of a little girl -- only four years old now -- I love to watch her dance like a ballerina and to see her delight in wearing a pretty dress. And she delights in the praise of dad, mom, and grandparents. We must continue to affirm her as often as we can, but the day will almost surely come when all our affirmation will be unable to outweigh the doubts cast by her peers. I can only hope we do our best to impart the true nature of beauty:

Do not let your adorning be external -- the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing -- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

The end of that comment is significant too -- we need to help our little girl realize that she is God's handiwork, and thus can "rest in the assurance of his great craftmanship."

Candace has more good stuff -- including another first hand account of the Communists for Kerry rally and her mom's thoughts on the hostage situation in Russia.