Keep Your Skirt On, Kid

photo on left is of the returned skirt - on the right, the evening she came home sans skirt

photo on left is of the returned skirt - on the right, the evening she came home sans skirt

I was pretty sure I dropped the girls off at daycare that morning, in early December, fully clothed.  But, in any case, when I picked them up, just shy of 6pm, that evening, I was greeted by two bubbly, yet tired, children.  One, of which, was sans a critical part of her outfit.  Her skirt.  I squinted to take a good look at her and determine what was different between how I left her in the morning and how she looked now.  Her white sweater, just barely covering her Princess Sophia undies, which were slightly camouflaged by black tights.  NOT leggings.....tights.  I asked her calmly what ON EARTH happened to her skirt.  She shrugged her shoulders, looked me directly in the eyes and said "I dunno?"  

My 5 year old had consciously removed an article of clothing and never returned it back to where it belonged.  At what point during the day do you just say "see ya" to the skirt?  This blew my mind, and the minds of older sis and the daycare teachers who confirmed that she hopped on the daycare van after school sans skirt.  They, too, thinking her outfit looked a bit questionable.  I asked her Kindergarten teacher to let her browse the lost and found, which they did on two different occasions just for good measure.  Fast forward 3 weeks to holiday break.  Each of the girls' classrooms were asked to rummage through the lost and found bins once more before year end.  There was her skirt, on top of the pile of other abandoned articles of clothing that were once loved.  

So, again, I asked her, "Where did you leave your skirt?"  And she firmly responded again with "I dunno?"

When we had our first born, I wanted every outfit to be coordinated, polished, every hair in place, shoes to match, bow on top.  She would come home from daycare or school with dirt stained shirts, pencil drawings on her leggings, broken headbands (or no headband at all), holes in her blouses and scuffs on her sweet little Mary Jane's.  Then we had our second child and my expectations diminished.  I had to relieve myself of the pressure to ensure each kid was freshly pressed and looking like they stepped out of a photo shoot when we left the house.  Because kids will be kids and they are enjoying life.  Something we can learn from.  

Disclaimer:  I am not advising my friends to take off their clothes wherever, and forget where they've left them because they're "enjoying life".