Give Me ALL the Uniforms
I used to be anti-uniform. I wanted to buy all the cute clothes and dress my kids in matching smocked outfits until they graduated high school. Then, my kids turned four and suddenly had an opinion on their outfits. My son only wanted to wear “exercise clothes.” No more smocked or appliqued tees. No gingham shorts. My daughter decided she didn’t like ruffle pants or anything with buttons. Where did my babies go? Did they not understand I wasn’t ready to give up MY clothing dreams yet?
Getting dressed for school was a battle every morning. I had to learn to give up my control and let them make choices for themselves. Even with that, there was still so many choices. Pants or a skirt? Tennessee shirt or not? Glitter shirt, flower shirt, or unicorn shirt? The options and choices were endless. We started picking out clothes the night before, which helped. However, knowing that there were other options waiting upstairs still tempted them to change their minds.
As frustrating as the free choice clothing was, I knew it was coming to an end. At our school, uniforms start in SK. While part of me wondered if they would “like” it or if I would, I knew it would streamline the mornings and the arguments. My kids are now in 1st and 3rd and I LOVE uniforms. They love uniforms. It is the best thing in the whole world. They can wear whatever they want on the weekend and our mornings run so much smoother. Jack can choose from red or blue polo shirts and khaki and navy shorts. Done! Julianne has a few more options, but it is still limited to polo shirts; khaki, navy, or plaid skirts; and polo dresses.
