let’s just say we are still easing into this school year. i can keep most things straight, you know. but occasionally i just plain forget. like last week.

it was spirit week at K’s school. monday was easy. she just had to wear her school shirt. we remembered. wednesday, we were already dressed when we remembered she was supposed to dress like what she wants to be when she grows up. she wants to be a mom and a teacher. so pretty much anything would be fine. i asked her if she wanted to change. she said no. that was that. friday was princess and pirates day. i absolutely did not remember at all. until we pulled up in the car line.

even the teachers were decked out, one of them with a wonder woman headband painted on her forehead. yikes. deep breath. i looked in my rearview mirror and considered how i might break this news to my three-year-old wanna-be princess. “hey K. i am really sorry. mommy completely forgot it was princess day. i see lots of girls dressed like princesses but we forgot your costume. you ok with that?”

i braced myself.

looking down at her t-shirt and shorts, handed down from our neighbor, K said, “it’s ok mom. princesses can wear this.” i thought i might cry. not because i forgot. but because she was so completely not bothered. and she thought she looked like a princess, no matter what she had on.

i asked her if she wanted me to come back and bring her a costume. she said no, i didn’t have to. but i knew i was headed home to the dress-up box. i returned 20 minutes later to a completely happy K, playing amidst the princesses and pirates in her class. not the least bit bothered. be still my heart.

you would think after that mishap that i would get it together for E’s spirit week. nope. i didn’t even know it was spirit week until keven read an email the morning of. even then, i thought pajama day was a one-day event. i had no idea the daily themes would continue all week.

this morning, we got to the bus stop and realized it was character day. i looked at E and said, “sorry buddy. i had NO IDEA it was character day. did you know?” he didn’t.

i braced myself.

he looked down at his blue hand-me-down star wars T shirt {also from a neighbor}, blue pants, and blue zip up sweatshirt and said, “that’s ok mom, i’ll pretend i am one of these characters” referring to the star wars characters on his shirt. he wasn’t the least bit bothered.

i had some mom-fail guilt, but somehow, i didn’t get lost in it. like K, his reaction told me he really didn’t care.

when E got home, he told me he told everyone he was the blue lantern. he made up a character for himself. apparently that was more than enough to get by in kindergarten. who was this kid? and how was it that he came from this type-a, not exactly flexible mom?

LITTLE things in unexpected places.

sometimes it is hard to look above the chaos of life with little ones, and notice anything, especially the LITTLE things. are you nodding? it’s easy to get hung up on a mom-fail, feel like you said the wrong thing, or wish you had it all together like so and so. next time you’re tempted to do just this, use the moment to notice something different.

instead of getting sucked in by the guilt of my mom fail, i took the moment to notice that my kiddos were able to rise above the situation, understand that people make mistakes, and make the best of things. in essence, they were both noticing the LITTLE things in the situation.

i smile when i think of their reactions, evidence of kiddos who feel comfortable enough in their own skin. who can imagine and pretend no matter what, forgive me when i forget, and are taking on this mentality of noticing the LITTLE things in unexpected places.

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