someday is here

I hope my mother will weigh in on this, but seriously, can we discuss this picture? I found it when I was going through oldies recently.

This picture was taken at a 4-H meeting that was being held at our farm. The memory still fresh in my brain.

There were people present. People outside of our family. I was in public!

I was standing in front of the 4-H club, seething with jealousy that I wasn't old enough to be a member like my brother and sisters.

I knew I needed a way to be part of the night, to draw some of that focus back to me. I needed drama. What I needed was an attention-grabbing demonstration. I remember the topic I settled on had something to do with how to (ahem), remove a horse's head. (My eldest daughter might disown me if she caught wind of this.)

I remember that stainless steel bowl was full of grass, to serve as a distraction for the horse before head removal.

And of course, one needs a knife to handle this job. A butter knife, of course.

I remember gathering the supplies in the kitchen snickering under my breath at what a comedic genius I was. This was gonna be good!

But mom, can we discuss my outift? The tube top? With my white baby belly hanging out? Were you done fighting battles for the day? Did I sneak off and put it on without your knowledge? Was it so hot that night that you were concerned I might sweat through a normal-sized tshirt that covered more than my upper torso?

I was definitely getting attention. I'm thinking it was for the shirt, not the morbid demonstration.

Funny thing is, I find myself in the trenches of this battle, too. Maybe not tube tops, but I've been known to be seen in public with small children in striped skorts pulled up over jeans with polkda-dot tshirts and wool sweaters. Ballet tutus. Tall black rubber barn boots on the hottest dog days of summer. Children who look like they've been pulled from the pages of a Little House story versus the 21st century.

I can hear the "someday you'll understand" refrain in my head. And I smile at my 6 year-old self. And I give a knowing nod to my mother. Someday is here.

Comments

[Sarah Jackson]

Too funny. Annika has a very, umm, unique sense of style. We're walking that tightrope between self-expression and appropriate for public outings. Someday, she too will look back and laugh. Just because that owl print top and that floral skirt are both "from nature" it doesn't mean they match. For real. I have the photos to prove it.

[kristin]

oh yes one thing i learned from the many mistakes with my eldest daughter who turns 18 tomorrow, the fight over dressing them is just. not. worth. it.i had her in those cute cotton dresses with matching bonnet and lace trimmed socks. WHY?! now my youngest who is 5 runs around in mix matched dresses over jeans every single day. and then tutus and ripped cowgirl hat and rubber boots. and she is happy and i am relaxed. there are plenty of battles the key is to know which ones to choose. i am still figuring that out.
i love finding an old shot like that like yours above. the horse head thing is cracking me up!

[Amy]

I'm almost 42 now and only now beginning to "get" my mother. The payoff for this job is excruciatingly slow:)

[sarah]

hilarious molly. full circle, we're experiencing the full circle and it will just continue.

and horse head removal!? hilarious....

[beki]

I'm sure I can find pictures of myself wearing tops in that same exact fashion - out in public! I was probably even sporting short running shorts and knee socks with them.
I am far from one of those mothers who have perfectlty dessed kids with smudge-free faces and perfectly combed hair. I even have one who routinely cuts her own hair (yes, she did it AGAIN), resulting in very, um, interesting styles. Appearance is one battle I choose not to fight :)

[barbara]

bwa hahahaha! i have several pictures from my younger days of wearing oddball outfits... i suppose my mother gave up on me after rearing 5 other children. :) i'm now encountering these same issues with my 4 year old... going out in public with major bed head being one of them. keep on truckin' mama!

[Erin Wilson]

Ha! Totally awesome. Alas, I'm the one looking down while in line at the grocery store and making the realization that I must have dressed with my eyes closed. And I mostly don't care lol. I think I give my neighbours lots of chuckles :)

[Mary-- The Yellow Door Paperie]

In this respect, my mother says I'm getting paid back for my own independent mind.

I would like her to wear a dress to church... she wants to tie a Vera scarf around her neck like a cape, two headbands, a purse, sparkly shoes, a few necklaces and bracelets.

But I'm raising my 5 year old to grow into an independent thinking adult... perhaps clothes is just the beginning.

[Tonya]

Halter tops! I remember wearing a few of those in the day. My mother and I battled over dresses - I was a Tom Boy, she was a Girly Girl. The fights we would have over dressing! Now I let my daughter do whatever she wants, within reason!

[Spring]

All my girls like to put together some intertesting outfits. My third is currently wearing two different patterned long johns and a wedding dress play outfit and her father's combat boots.

I just make sure I get pictures. :)

[Heather]

I remember commenting to my mom that the 70s were hideous fashion wise. I used my old childhood photos as evidence. She quickly corrected my assumption by pointing out that I was responsible for the stripe and plaid look not her or 70s fashion. I now have 2 kiddos with unique styles. It is definitely funny when we go out. My husband shakes his head, but I think no one in their right mind could think I dressed them that way.

[Shanti]

I remember having an almost identical shirt, except it was light blue and there was some sort of ruffle. I was SO PROUD of that top even though it makes me cringe to think of it today.

[Jennifer]

Forget the outfit, that mod scandanavian rocking horse is probably worth a pretty penny these days!

[Carmela]

My oldest often walks around with one shoe (we've lost the other somewhere on our travels - In fact, we started leaving right shoes all over town when he discovered how to roll down his window in the car) or no shoes at all. I'm sure people thought less of me today when my kiddo was shoeless in the mall today because the pair I brought were wet from an impromptu stop at the spray park. He'll probably wonder as an adult why I never made him wear shoes.

You looked cute, Don Corleon attention-getting techniques and all.

[tara thayer]

we were just talking about this last night: anna constantly dresses as if she's in costume. although most likely a costume that no one but her would recognize or even understand.
i had to put my food down last weekend at my nephew's graduation, and it was a (physical) battle.

i'm hoping that the heat of summer will solve it a bit as bathing suits and sundresses will seem to make some sense to her.

the flip side to this is that the big girls are barely dressed anymore, and that's a whole other battle.

and onward...
xo

[Lisa Kirker]

You're not the only one! I'm often caught at the bank with our youngest in some sort of tu-tu/cowboy boot combo. Usually having to explain that it's not a special occasion, just a Thursday.

[emily]

um, has anybody mentioned that elizabeth looks JUST like you? (i'm home. xo.)

[Edward Hughes]

What in the world were you doing by horse head removal. Practicing for the Godfather series?

Ed

[mandi@herbanhomestead]

Holy cow! That picture is awesome! I've never seen a shirt quite like that one!

This reminds me...one day I was watching a tragic news cast about a little girl that was kidnapped. The woman who spotted her and ended up saving her life was being interviewed. She called the police after seeing a small girl with an older man at a convenience store, and something didn't add up. So she called in. Know what her "evidence" was for calling? The little girl's outfit. The hero of the story said that she knew that no child who was being properly cared for would be allowed out in public looking like that. {ahem} Ok, this is a wonderful ending to this story. But, if this is the cause for a phone call to the police, let's just say that it is a total miracle that I have never been turned in!!!

[Mama Urchin]

Sometimes I think my mother must go to bed with a smile on her face every night because her someday is definitely here.

[pieceLove]

At least your mom didn't try to live vicariously through you and make you get the perms she always wanted, chatting up the hairdresser whilst she squirted chemicals onto my head. And now my kids are like, "Did you have a PERM? A permanent WAVE?!" Fun. Always.

[amy h]

I remember wearing those shirts. They weren't tube tops exactly -- they were woven material, and there was elastic involved in the puffy sleeves and around the mid-section. So I don't think you probably appeared odd. :) But that horse? I want that horse. That horse is awesome. And my daughter just went to bed wearing a skirt over her pajama bottoms, which were being worn with not a pajama top, but a nightgown. I rarely interfere with style. :)

[Nahuatl Vargas]

This made me laugh hard.
I totally get that someday it's here, even when clothing is not yet funny with my son, well he wears capes and hats, but maybe he does not have to man y options, just hand me downs from cousins.
Thanks for sharing.