Project 52 | five

Metadata: f/ 5, 1/40 sec, ISO 1600

Here's how the conversation typically goes at our house:

Mom: "Lucas... go find some clothes out of the dresser for school."

Lucas: "Okay...."

Mom: "It's going to be chilly, so you'll need pants and a long sleeve shirt."

Lucas: "Is a pajama shirt okay, if it's long sleeved?"

Mom: "Nope. We wear PJs to bed, not to school."

Lucas: "Okay..."

::Lucas returns to living room with shorts and t-shirt::

Mom: "What do you have? Are those what we talked about?"

::Lucas looks down:: "Oh! That's silly! It's too cold for a t-shirt..."

What should take us 3-4 minutes typically takes 30... you know, before we have the right attire, it's on the right way, we've used the bathroom, we've thrown away the pull-up from the night before, the sleep toys are all dressed appropriately or hiding in the bed, teeth are brushed, and socks are on. 

My type-A tendencies dislike THIS part of our morning the most. Because I (or Korey, as it typically ends up) would be able to dress the poor kid in a fraction of the time thus allowing some extra time for catching Zzzzs. However: if we've learned anything from blogs, advice, and books -- self efficacy is a lesson even 3-year-olds can learn on some level. And this is his. 

So -- perhaps his lesson to US is that he can do it by himself (ish). Our lesson to him is to continue to find places where he can be himself and make his own choices. I might not allow him to actually walk outside in his socks and flip flops (though he may "re-discover" this look in college...), but he can choose whether to wear his cowboy boots or sneakers outside. Or his blue coat or red coat. Or his Halloween shirt in January... (which you can't see from this picture, but completes the outfit) much to his mother's chagrin...