As pictured above, our kids seem to be jacket-averse. Seriously, is this every kid? The kids in this family will tolerate a vest, if it’s from their Aunt Melanie and “very fashionable” as Catie says. MAYBE a sweatshirt. But when the temperature dips into the 50s around here, they HATE to wear an actual jacket. Catie’s issues are that she’s savvy enough to know that it always warms up to the 70s by afternoon. On the bus she’s hot and stuck lugging around the useless coat. Sam has issues with anything that “feels weird” (Read: anything besides his pjs and flip-flops). Don’t get me started on Nate who has NEVER WORN SHOES A DAY IN HIS LIFE and freaks out about socks.
And then there’s Elisabeth.
Very few jackets meet her standards for “cute enough.” But there are a few she’ll compromise on, which is what we send her to school in every day. But these jackets do not compare to the parkas the other four-year-olds wear to pre-school. Yesterday a girl in their class wore mittens and snow boots. It was sixty-five degrees by the afternoon. Elisabeth? Nada.
So, imagine my delight when Elisabeth’s beloved teacher surprised Elisabeth with TWO coats. One was a cute denim jacket that the teacher had embroidered for her own daughter years ago. The other was an adorable pink coat that had layers and a hood. The teacher explained to Elisabeth how SPECIAL these coats were to her and how excited she was to pass them on to “lovable Elisabeth.”
Elisabeth was thrilled to receive ANYTHING from her hero. I was thrilled that Elisabeth would finally wear a jacket in this frigid 60 degree weather.
Until I talked to M later that night.
“Isn’t that sweet?” I asked him. “After all the four-year-olds she’s taught, she gave these special coats to Elisabeth. She really loves her.”
“Or,” M wisely pointed out, “She’s sick of Elisabeth showing up every day without a coat.”
Oh.
