It happened. I knew it was inevitable, I was sideswiped nonetheless.
I got the once over followed up by “Are you going to wear that, Mommy?” Their eyes looked me up and down, twice. “Are you going to change?” This, moments before we were to leave to visit Bird’s new middle school. Note that I had previously been wearing a running skirt and sweatshirt, stained with coffee and chocolate from Easter candy I stole while the boys were in school.
I was stunned by the comment, rendered speechless for just a breath. Never before had my boys noticed what I was wearing. Well, there were the moments when Bird was little he used to tell me I looked like a ballerina whenever I wore a skirt. Those halcyon days are grayed out memories now. I emphatically told the boys I was not going to change. Why Deal even cared I don’t know. He was going to soccer practice with a friend and wasn’t going to be standing next to me anyway. There’s no escaping being related to me and pretending I’m not the mom since the boys favor me anyway. Note that this genetic match up does not always go in my favor.
Off we went.
Oh, for the record, I was wearing a jaunty three quarter sleeve navy blue cotton dress with pleats and a peasant collar, cowboy boots (the real deal from Texas that Mac Daddy bought me as an anniversary gift one year when work beckoned him to Houston on our anniversary), simple silver hoop earrings, and an infinity scarf.
I was actually feeling pretty good about myself, not looking like a dowdy, zonked out mom (which is how I’ve been feeling lately).
When we got to said middle school, a teacher swung open the doors to welcome us in. She took one look at me, arched her left brow, nodded and hummed, and said, “Mmm…you look snazzy!” Spoken with just a hint of emphasis on snazzy. Ah, just the validation I needed. I glanced knowingly at Bird, feeling my posture straighten just a tish.
“Mom, snazzy isn’t a compliment. Unless you’re old.”
Leave it to kids to treat your ego like a pin cushion.
Ouch! But the outfit sounds cool! 🙂