First Day of School Navy Blues Update

Phew! We had a great morning and Molly was already in her jumper before I even woke up. Love that first day of school adrenaline rush! Sure we helped her put her socks and shoes on, but I feel so relieved!

First Day of School Navy Blues

Just when I think I have my kids figured out, they throw me for a loop. Aaargh. School starts tomorrow. I was a little behind on the bedtime routine, but I was still hoping to get them to bed a decent hour after an unstructured summer of sloth.

In order to put off brushing her teeth, Molly decided to check out her school uniform options. What did she find? A stack of 9 identical jumpers and 7 neatly folded polo shirts. She has had frequent clothing challenges, but I thought our problem centered mainly on socks. Many a tearful morning has stemmed from her having a lump in her sock, an imaginary seam, or having one that just “doesn’t feel right!” Invariably, both kids are marked tardy because of Molly’s sock woes, and I am a screaming shrew.

Unfortunately last year's knee socks of choice have been discontinued, so I bought 12 pairs of seamless socks this summer and have been talking them up ever since with the fervor of an infomercial salesperson.

The polo and jumper thing has been our one certainty. Other girls opt to wear khaki or navy shorts or long pants on occasion, but not Molly. In her 360 day elementary school career, she has worn a jumper and a polo each day. The one exception was a trip to the pumpkin patch when she unhappily donned her tried and true “capri pants”—size 4 gauchos she has had since preschool. One summer she even insisted on wearing her jumper and polo to camp for a week because she loved them so much.

Sooooo, I've accumulated enough hand me down jumpers that I never have to launder them during the week. I've been well-stocked and feeling great.

So tonight, at 9 pm the night before school starts, she decides to wear pants. Why? Because that’s “what 2nd graders do.” She found a pair of navy blue floods (never worn) that I had purchased for her before kindergarten. She pulled them on and started cavorting on the bed in front of the mirror. Navy polo, navy pants, she looked like the Maytag repairman and was well pleased.

When I told her the rules said she needed to tuck in her shirt and wear a belt, she was not happy. When I told her she didn’t own a navy, brown or black belt per the dress code, she was in despair.

When I finally talked her down and got her into bed, her prayer went like this: “Please God let all the 2nd grade girls wear stupid jumpers tomorrow.”

Now I blog and I wait. If you are a praying person and if you read this in the early a.m. on Wednesday, please pray for Molly and for me. In fact, any time this week would be appreciated. And throw in some sock prayers for good measure.