It’s 10:04 p.m. and I am getting this Day 8 blog in just under the wire. Not because it hasn’t been a day of revelation and insight. Quite the opposite. Today was one of the most enjoyable, joyous days I’ve had in recent memory. Actually, it may be one of the most enjoyable days I have ever had. And the day was spent shopping for school clothes with my children, of all things.
We drove to Farmington, New Mexico, which is 70-something miles away, to get what is needed for the year. Ethan will be going into middle school and Noah will be in 3rd grade. So, here I was preparing myself for this day of torture, shopping for clothes and shoes with an 11-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy, neither of whom have ever cared one lick about clothing, fashion, style, if their clothes match, or even if their clothes are clean. Ethan has never even cared if he is clean. Last summer we took him to Huntsville, Alabama for Space Camp, and he didn’t shower once the entire week he was there. And let me repeat: Alabama. Summer. He was disgusting. And he couldn’t have cared less. He also only changed his clothes twice the entire week. Yeah, so this is what I was bracing myself to deal with today.
I could not have been more surprised by how the day progressed. We are obviously shopping on a pretty tight budget, so we hit up stores like Ross, and TJ Maxx. (Who am I kidding? I proudly shop there on any budget!) It was at Ross that I sent Ethan off to check out a rack of shirts in the clearance section for his size, and I told him to pick out something he liked. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew it could have been anything. However, I never expected it to be what it was. He walked over to me and said, “Is this okay?” as he held up a button-up Dockers dress shirt, light pink with yellow on the inside cuffs and collar. So modern. So hip. So…not Ethan. It was a $100 shirt, marked down to next-t0-nothing, and I was elated. “Yeah, that’s fine. Good choice,” I said calmly, afraid to show too much emotion or I might somehow undo the magic of the moment.
From there, the day got more insane and wonderful. He purchased a leather Dickies wallet with his own money. He already has a wallet, but he felt it was time for a “grown-up wallet.” His other purchase of the day, with his own money, was a knapsack which he intends to use on his daily hikes in the nature preserve just across the street from our house. Yesterday, again with his own money – gift cards, actually – he purchased an odometer/speedometer for his bike. Up until recently, any and all money spent was used on video games. What is happening?!?
He picked out stylish clothes all day long. He has a fashion sense which I never would have anticipated. Never. And then we got home and he wanted to show us the outfit he had in mind for the first day of school. “Okay, sure,” I said to the kid who has never wanted to try on clothes for the sake of trying on clothes, ever. He grabbed what he wanted, and then a few minutes later came out in his pink Converse shirt under his pink Dockers button-up (which he calls his tuxedo, and is seriously his pride and joy), with his new Calvin Klein khakis (Which cost me $10.00. Boom!) and his new tennis shoes. The Converse shirt was tucked into the khakis, the button-up was untucked, the cuffs were rolled up to show the yellow… WHO IS THIS CHILD???? By this point, I was wondering if I was in the middle of some Freaky Friday thing, and he had somehow switched places with a GQ model.
And then, after a little time had passed and he had carefully put away his new treasures, he said, “I’m going to go take a shower.” And then he went in the bathroom and took a shower. The boy has never voluntarily taken a shower in his life. Should I call the police? Am I going to see a GQ model who resembles my son on a milk carton soon? I just can’t explain it.
But the day was surprising in other, even better ways as well. My children and I had an amazing time together. Absolutely amazing. They never grumbled, they tried on clothes, we laughed, we discussed spiritual matters, we sang along together to Frozen karaoke tracks (don’t tell them I told you that), and we loved every minute of our time together. While shopping for school clothes.
Freaky Friday, indeed. Freaky and wonderful.
The Year of Blogging Faithfully 