The Day My Kids Asked to Wear My Clothes

Raising kids alone has its perks, because the single parent who is left home to care for the kids is also the parent who witnesses all of the funny things their kids do and say. I may not have gotten the house OR the car, but I got my kids and for that I have always been grateful.

One day, when my three youngest kids were teenagers, I found one of my daughters, Lindsey, rummaging through my closet. None of my kids had ever before even opened the door. Perplexed, I just had to ask what she was looking for.

"Clothes," she said.

WOW! Was I flattered. To think that one of my kids would want to wear something of mine was amazing. Nobody before had EVER asked to wear anything of mine. As a matter of fact, everybody had always complained about my lack of fashion sense. And now, my daughter actually wanted to wear something I owned.

So I was feeling pretty good about myself until my daughter put the whole situation into perspective when she added, "Tomorrow is grunge day at school."

And – it continues:

Just this past weekend, when one of my daughters came to my home in Illinois (I am still in Virginia visiting my son and his family) to visit another daughter of mine (Brittney) who, along with her husband and children, moved in with me a couple of summers ago, Lindsey looked through my closet to find something to wear.

Surprisingly, Lindsey found something she liked, and then went into the kitchen to tell Brittney, "Wow! Mom has some really cute clothes in there!"

Funny thing is, when my daughter-in-law once came to visit, she had said exactly the same thing.

Well, guess what happened when Brittney and her family moved in with me? She didn't have enough room in her closets to fit all of her clothes, so she put a bunch of them in mine.

I guess I still don't have any fashion sense.

Weekend of Fashion

I ... um... 

Oh, just spit it out – OK, FINE! I HAVE NO FASHION SENSE! OK?

Satisfied? 

My children, however (well, three of them anyway), make up for my loss. When my daughter, Lindsey, FINALLY decided to follow her true calling (fashion merchandising) and asked me to accompany her to the Open House held at The Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago this past weekend, I gladly went, because even though I know nothing of fashion, I wanted to support her and encourage her to follow her dream. 

One of the instructors focused her attention on me, probably because she noticed the glazed-over effect in my eyes – how could any woman NOT be interested in fashion? I pretended I understood what they were discussing when, in fact, I felt as if I were at some kind of museum where all the artifacts came from some abstract continent located in a different world.

Lindsey saw somebody's handbag and whispered, "Do you know how much that bag cost?" I looked over at the purse and sighed, "I don't know, a hundred dollars?" Uh – that's a Bottega Veneta! If she had said it was a broccoli carrot, I would have known as much.

And then one of the instructors mentioned how Betsy Ross – was that her name? – was going to be in town and "Wow! Can you imagine being in the same room as Betsy Ross?"

And I'm thinking, didn't she design the flag? Is she still alive? I wouldn't know the woman if she fell on me.

Of course she was talking about Betsey Johnson – I think – that was the name that came up when I googled "fashion and Betsy" (maybe she's Betsy Ross reincarnated). But I knew Lindsey would be happy to meet her.

The directors and instructors went on to discuss the benefits of the school, how it was in such close proximity to the Merchandise Mart – right next door with a walkway connecting the two buildings. Housing was available and close by. Actually, everything they discussed sounded perfect for Lindsey. 

And so, for my Lindsey, I am very happy! Three years from now, she will be where she was always destined to be – in the fashion world – a world as foreign to me as Mars, but close enough for us to still get together often.