Modesty Meagan

Here is a story I found in the June 07 edition of BRIO mag. It is written by Jennifer Ellis. I divided it into parts to spread it out. The Arguement: Mom's eyebrows were raised so far that I thought they might go flying off her forehead. "What's wrong?" I asked her. I'd just come into the kitchen and was hunting for breakfast. "Meagan, I'm not sure what you were thinking when you go dressed this morning, but I'm certainly not going to let you go to school like that," Mom said. I heard the suction on the refrigerator door as she opened it to get the milk. I looked down at myself. It was true that I was breaking out of my usual style. I'd chosen a skirt that hadn't fit me in a year or so but that now clung tightly around my hips. My top was form fitting, but it didn't show anything. "This is what everyone wears," I told her. "Not my daughter," Mom replied calmly. I slid into my chair and sighed. "You don't understand." She smiled at me. "I do understand. You can find something you like and dress modestly at the same time. You can still be you." "This is modest!" I exclaimed. "It's absolutely Victorian compared to what other girls wear!" She laughed. "Honey, I don't care if the other girls are wearing two piece swimsuits to algebra. You're going to dress appropriately." I crossed my arms on the kitchen table and allowed my head to drop dramatically into them. Then I looked up at her. "You wanted me to look feminine right? This is feminine." Mom handed me a muffin and sat down accross from me at the table. "Feminine means you dress like a lady. This my friend, is not feminine." I ate my breakfast in silence. I was trying to think of a good arguement, but nothing I could say sounded right. She just didn't understand what it was like to be my age. Other girls were wearin skin tight tops with neckines down to ....well, there. They had curve hugging jeans and shirts that showed off their bellies. How was I supposed to fit in with that? Especially when my mother was straight out to the Dark Ages? "Go up and change your clothes Meagan," Mom said when I was finished. I sighed and trudged up the stairs. I would have to think of another way to convince her. "Much better," she told me when I appeared in khakis and a sweater. "These pants are too big." I complained. "Those pants are perfect," Mom said. She gave me a hug. "You have a beautiful little figure, and these clothes show it off in an appropriate way." I hugged her back. It wasn't her fault that she grew up in the time of the dinosaurs. To be continued.... Next up, The Mall.