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That Shirt

The worst mistakes in life are those you regret in leisure. I made one of these when J was about eight. There was this cute black and white patterned shirt with an oversize hot pink bow that we both liked equally. Now, clothes shopping with J has never been a walk in the park. Her list of "cannot stands" is long enough to land  almost all clothes her size in the "reject" pile. But on rare occasions like that day with the pink bow shirt -the decision was swift and life was good.
We realized it was a little big for her but just too cute to pass so the purchase was made. She wore it next morning to go to school and I said "J, we agreed that was too big to wear right away. You need to grow into it". That morning, I had no idea how large a place that shirt would come occupy in our lives.
J has always been the master opportunist and she put her talents to work in the matter of the shirt under dispute. Anytime I was in a rush and asked her to get ready in  under five minutes, she would show up wearing that shirt - happy as a clam. She knew we would not have the time for her to change. I would express frustration, she wait for the moment to pass and we would carry on as usual.
Then in time, she started to fit into that shirt - many other clothes had been added to her wardrobe in the interim but none had been able to displace the go-to shirt which this thing had now become. I tried to hide it under a pile of other clothes so she would not find it, but it always turns up in every season paired with pants, skirts and shorts that it just did not belong with. J takes her right to wear this shirt very seriously - after all we had once agreed it was cute and she could grow into it. In J's version of the facts- this is just a very versatile shirt that works with everything and she never has to search for it - it just appears out of nowhere when she is looking for clothes.
I may win the occasional battle and get her to change into something else but J will likely prevail in the war of attrition that this is.
And here is J on the one thing that I cannot stand to lose.


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Comments

Hope said…
Haha! Wonderful Post H. :) But, more than that, I think I liked J's post much more. The girl is definitely exceeding her mom in blog-writing. She's a wonderful writer, I must say.
It's overwhelming to see that the little J I've been reading about in your blog, has grown up so big and turned out into a blog writer herself. :O :) But, that's how fast kids grow.
I feel excited and sad at the same time thinking about my toddler growing up so fast. Enjoy till it lasts. :)
12:30 AM
Heartcrossings said…
Thanks, Hope :) I have been trying hard to get J to write more regularly and am hoping such encouragement will further my cause..
9:08 AM
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