So many discouraging headlines recently (which is exactly why I don’t read the full stories) that I have to share an event that happens every single morning and makes me so happy.
No, I don’t force Sam to vacuum the rugs. Mostly because our HandiVac is a lightning rod of conflict for our kids. If one of them sees it, hand combat breaks out over who gets to vacuum. Or not vacuum–since the other two kids fighting over it impede the vacuumer’s ability to do anything but defend him/herself.
But I digress.
Every morning, while Sam is still wiping the sleep from his eyes and trying to crawl out of bed, Ellie hops out and runs to her closet. She demands to know what we’re doing today. And then she shouts, “All my clothesssss!” and stretches out her arms.
And then…she picks out an outfit. And it’s always exactly right. Truly, it’s uncanny. I think M. is tired of me marveling at her mad fashion skillz ever single day. So I’ll marvel to you. She can pair a fancy skirt with a simple tank for a day of running errands with Mommy. Or an old t-shirt with some sassy shorts for Art Camp.
And then, barely three years old, she puts the outfit on. For added pressure, she even likes me to count so she can see how fast she can get dressed.
A true prodigy.
I know what you’re thinking: fashion sense + love of clothes = second mortgage and big battles when she’s a teen. Probably. But right now? When I’ve been stuffing octopuses into strait jackets, I mean dressing kids, for six years? I’ll take it.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s also incredibly nice that Sam has NO opinion on his wardrobe because I can stuff him into whatever’s clean, and he barely opens his eyes.
And it’s also nice that Catie doesn’t care all that much about clothes because she usually mimics Ellie’s outfit, which speeds up our whole getting-out-the-door problem.
But on days that the oil spill is threatening Texas, the economy is heading even further south than that, and Kim Kardashian is a front page celebrity?
I’d rather focus on Ellie and her passion for fashion.
