My Daughter Looks Nothing Like Me, And I’m Just Fine With That
New pictures are out of Reese Witherspoon’s darling little girl Ava. The 12-year-old bears a remarkable resemblance to her superstar mother. For just a second when I saw pictures of the tween and her mama side-by-side, I felt a twinge of jealousy. These two are quite obviously a pair and my daughter looks almost nothing like me.
When I was a child, every one always knew exactly which dad I belonged to. Coaches could look out into a sea of parents in the bleachers and immediately pick him out of a crowd. To this day, my teachers remember my dad and say hi when they run into each other at the grocery store. To see me every school day for a year was a lot like seeing him every day.
More than anything else, my dad and I share yellow gold hair. I mean, seriously yellow. It’s not the platinum, ice blonde color you associate with Nordic models. It’s not the dirty blonde high-lights you find on the beaches of California. It’s the yellowish tone of 20 karat gold. And we both have a very full head of it.
Of course, it wasn’t just the hair that makes us look alike, although a 6 ft. tall blonde guy who never stops smiling is memorable all on his own. We also have sky blue eyes, and complexions that turn red at the slightest hint of sun, sip of alcohol, or moment of embarrassment. Even to this day, I never outgrew my serious resemblance to my father.
When I had a little girl, I guess I just assumed that she would look just like me. I thought her hair would be a layer of yellow fuzz just like mine had been, which prompted my mom to refer to me as a duckling for the first couple months. I thought her big blue eyes would stay clear and light. And just like my dad, I thought every teacher or coach would look at me and know exactly which child was mine.
Oh the plans we make when we’re still pregnant and hopeful, right?
In reality, my daughter was born with pitch black hair. It’s lightened overtime, but even after a summer in the sun it’s dirty blonde at best. Her eyes are an ever-changing mix of green and hazel. Sometimes they almost turn a dark grey, but never a hint of blue. Her angular face and pointy little chin just don’t look much like her momma at all.
It definitely didn’t turn out like I planned, but I guess that’s why it’s so perfect. My daughter is the most adorable and beautiful little girl I’ve ever set my eyes on, which is obviously a completely unbiased opinion. She doesn’t look much like me at all. But she looks exactly like herself. Those dark, changing eyes are so expressive and full of fire, just like my strong little girl. And thank goodness she didn’t get my invisible blonde eyebrows, because she can arch her brunette brow so perfectly that Joan Collins would be jealous.
Now, just the idea that I wanted my daughter to look like me seems funny. Of course she doesn’t. She looks like her own person, just as she was always meant to. And Reese Witherspoon’s daughter may look an awful lot like her momma, but I’m sure that little Ava has her own personality and features as well. She’s just easier to pick out of a crowd I guess.
(Photo: Daily Mail)
