Parenting Crossroads

Do you know that moment when you face a decision and it could really go either way? You are at a crossroads, but ultimately you have to make a decision... so you choose; and then you have to live with your decision.

It happened to me this week. We had been oversleeping all week and getting up with barely enough time to get ready, eat breakfast, make Elliott's lunch, and head out the door to get to school on time.  To be honest, we had been arriving a few minutes late to school each day... but never caught!  Thursday was no exception so as I began the frantic warnings of "Get your shoes on, get your stuff, its time to go!" I saw Caiden.  Dressed like this:

And I had one of those moments where I weighed my options.  Everything in me was in conflict, at a crossroads.  Do all parents have the reflex of thinking about what they think a "real parent" would do?  There I stood thinking a normal parent would not allow this, knowing that my husband would not let her out of the house like that, but then there was part of me that just thought, "I'm okay with this."  I knew why there were two different boots on her feet.  Two reasons: first, her other pink boot has been missing for some time, and second, she really enjoys "mix-matched" as she calls it.  And as a third, she's just "Caiden" (that's a real thing).  I think the knowledge of all of those things combined with my own disposition and upbringing to contribute to my turning down the wide road of destruction.  I suffered from a mild case of guilt that quickly abated as I buckled her into the car.  "Wow, Caiden.  You're wearing pink, purple, aqua, lime green, and two different colors of boots...  But the funny thing is... It doesn't really look bad!"

And it only got worse as the day wore on...

This girl and her outfits!  Man, I love her!