vintage class photo, 1957 (Photo credit: deflam)
Yesterday, detangling Flower Child’s hair.
Mrs Fringe, “Tomorrow is picture day, so let’s make a little extra effort, and you have to pick an outfit that you want to take a picture in.”
Flower Child, “No it isn’t. It’s De-cem-BER. Picture day is October 30th.”
Mrs F, “It was supposed to be October 30th, but there was no school that day because of the hurricane. So picture day was rescheduled for tomorrow, December 3rd.”
FC, “The paper said October 30th. I read it.” *preens*
Mrs F, “October 30th has passed. It was the day before Halloween. We’ve been through all of November, and now it’s December. Picture day is tomorrow. Do you want to wear the dress you wore for Thanksgiving?”
FC, clearly not believing me, “OK.”
This morning, getting ready.
Mrs Fringe, “Remember, it’s picture day. I’m filling out the paper for school, please give the envelope to the teacher.”
FC, “Umm, ohhhh,” rubs her stomach.
Mrs F, “Are you sick?”
FC, “No. Maybe. I don’t think so. It’s October 30th?”
Mrs F, “No, it’s picture day.”
We keep getting ready, Flower Child alternating between fighting nervous smiles, tearing up, and ummming. I sit down on the couch with her, finally figuring out she doesn’t want to wear the dress she’s already wearing.
I’ve already filled out the form and sealed the envelope. She picks a different outfit. Polka dot little too short skirt. Striped too big shirt. Sparkly tights. Mismatched socks. Early bag lady, but she’s smiling. I like to think she’ll smile when they take the picture, but if I was laying money down, I’d have to bet she’ll be giving her very best “smeyes,” a la Tyra Banks. Going to look fab against the fake flowering tree background.
The Cheshire Cat (Photo credit: Wild Guru Larry)
mrsfringe 
She’s always so fashion-forward, and I’ll bet she looks adorable. My girl sometimes also gets caught up what I call a “roadblock”, where she has something in her head, and just can’t let it go. It was especially bad in middle school, when they were finally allowed to start using calculators during math tests, and she flatly refused, because “that’s cheating.” We (and the teacher) talked ourselves blue in the face about how it was okay because the teacher said so. Math scores were not so good, for a very long time.:/
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Not always fashion forward, but always cute 😀
😦 I can clearly imagine the hours and hours of homework struggle for your girl. FC is happy to let that type of thing go once the teacher says it’s ok.
Yes, for FC is a combination of getting stuck and not really comprehending time/days/months. If picture day was supposed to be October 30th, and picture day didn’t happen, then October 30th didn’t happen. Knowing it’s December doesn’t mean she understands October is finished for this year.
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🙂 ❤
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🙂
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Certainly it will be an accurate reflection of her sparkling, unique personality, and that’s what is important. Love her!
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This is true, it will be very Flower Child 😀
Thanks Pamela!
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Oh, Flower Child. The Empress can relate to you… The calendar is a cross between a totally mysterious, abstract thing and a sacred document to her that she’s just barely starting to grasp. And heaven forbid we change plans or reschedule an appointment.
Her outfit makes me smile. At least it sounds weather-appropriate…. No sundresses for December… And she will look adorable. Do you remember when Empress wanted to bring the frog to school to hold for her kindergarten picture?
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LOL, I DO remember her wanting to bring the frog–thank you for reminding me of that one 😀
FC’s best grasp of the calendar revolves around the boys–they’re home, or they’re away. 😉
Weather appropriate…yes, I’m not gonna mention the sundresses currently in the laundry basket 😀 I figure that’s one bonus to her love of layers, tee hee!
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Adorable child!
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Thank you! 😀
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Awww picture day can be stressful. I remember grade 1 – no front teeth and Mom said to smile with a closed mouth = goofy. And other years I spilled stuff on my outfit or my hair looked wind blown, etc…I was always stressed about picture day.
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Picture Day is always hit or miss–usually miss, yet somehow still cute 😀
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I never told my mom about picture day – she would fuss me up so much that the pictures didn’t look like me. Cool that she shows her own style.
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LOL, I can see it now! A lot of moms used to do that, fewer now. I agree, cooler this way 😀
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Not worth the argument. I’ve learned to pick my battles. Choosing clothes for a school picture is not one worth battling over. Kudos to you mom for letting FC wear what made her comfortable! 🙂
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Hah! I think that’s the true definition of parenting, picking your battles 😀
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Just found your blog via exceedingspeed and love you, your daughter and your thoughts. Daughters here are all in school uniforms so we indulge in other issues.
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Welcome! And thank you 🙂 I hope you’ll come again and join the conversation. My boys had dress code in middle school, not quite uniforms, but close enough–made life so much easier!
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