{"id":3143,"date":"2025-11-01T16:42:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T16:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/?p=3143"},"modified":"2025-11-01T16:42:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T16:42:12","slug":"the-photographer-asked-would-you-like-to-retake-the-photo-without-the-tooth-sticking-out-she-replied-nope-im-good-mom-admires-stron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/?p=3143","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The photographer asked, \u2018Would you like to retake the photo without the tooth sticking out?\u2019 She replied, \u2018Nope, I\u2019m good!\u2019: Mom admires \u2018strong-willed\u2019 daughter after hilarious school photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis is Lucy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And this is Lucy\u2019s 1st-grade school picture.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yes, that is a tooth. This tooth had been hanging on by a string for weeks. We could have pulled it, but she liked the way it looked and enjoyed playing with it at all hours of the day.<\/p>\n

Typical Lucy. My messy-haired, ferocious, critter-loving Lucy, who would rather spend her time searching ditches for frogs and bugs than playing dress up or dolls. The one that\u2019s stripping off her shoes and socks the moment she walks in the door, leaving them in a trail throughout the house as she goes because they\u2019re just too confining. She\u2019d go around in just her underpants all day if we\u2019d let her. She hates dressing up (actually getting dressed at all), gets irritated when I try to fix her hair and doesn\u2019t have time to worry about whether her clothes match or not.<\/p>\n

Before she left for school on picture day, I told her to keep her rogue tooth in line for her pictures. As she skipped off to the bus stop, she gave me that wry smile of hers and said, \u2018Okay, mom.\u2019 This is what she did instead.<\/p>\n

My free spirited, independent, self-assured 7-year-old stuck that baby out for the world to see. Look at how proud she is! This is the look of a girl who knows exactly what she\u2019s doing. This is a girl who knows that this picture will forever be displayed at all future milestones of her life. Sweet-Sixteen birthday. Graduation. Wedding. Her dad already had this picture turned into a travel coffee mug for me. He definitely won best the gift ever award!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When the photographer asked if she wanted to retake the picture without the tooth sticking out, she replied, \u2018Nope, I\u2019m good!\u2019<\/p>\n

She doesn\u2019t conform to societal standards. She\u2019s unique and she embraces it. I often have to stop myself from squashing her individuality, afraid of what others might think of her (or me, as a mother, if I\u2019m being totally honest.). I wish I had her attitude, her spunk, her feistiness. I rarely voice my concerns or speak up when something bothers me in fear that I might disappoint someone, or even worse, make someone mad at me. I\u2019m passive when it comes to confrontation. I work hard every day to make sure she\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

Growing up, I was all about what others thought of me. I wanted so desperately to be liked, to be popular. I strived to fit in and belong instead of embracing the fact that I could have been just like Lucy when I was young: imaginative, quirky, wild, and very much a rough and tumble kind of girl. And my mother worried too.<\/p>\n

My beloved Memaw told her I marched to the beat of my own drum, but the lure of popularity got to me and I lost myself trying to be something I was not. I desperately wish I could go back and tell my younger self all that doesn\u2019t matter! I\u2019d tell myself that, in the long run, being true to yourself is the most important life lesson I could give. There are many aspects of my youth and early adulthood that I would change; however, there are far many others that I am proud of.<\/p>\n

I eventually found my way. I just wish I had the confidence and belief in myself along the journey.<\/p>\n

My greatest wish is that Lucy\u2019s emboldened attitude stays with her. She needs to know that she\u2019s allowed to be heard. She\u2019s allowed to speak up for what she wants. She\u2019s allowed to let others know when she feels slighted or dismissed or is unhappy with the way she\u2019s being treated. It\u2019s okay to be brave, bold, and strong willed. And when my husband and I get frustrated at her strong will, we often have to remind ourselves it will help her navigate the world better as she gets older. For now, we just hunker down and try to guide her to be the best human being she can possibly be.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s young now, but I know the older she gets, the more she\u2019s going to feel the pull of what society expects from her.<\/p>\n

And every time she feels that pull, I hope she sticks that tooth out and tells the world, \u2018Nope, I\u2019m good!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis is Lucy. And this is Lucy\u2019s 1st-grade school picture. Yes, that is a tooth. This tooth had been hanging on by a string for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3143"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3149,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3143\/revisions\/3149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}