Because most philosophies that frown on reproduction don't survive.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Kids and cold

"I'm cold. You go put on a sweater."

That's how it is here. I have a low tolerance for being chilly, and it even makes me cold to see dolls laying around with no clothes on. Why, then, is it that my daughters find it perfectly comfortable to run around in ballet leotards or sundresses or nothing but their skivvies? I'm flipping through the Lands' End catalogue dreaming of fleece slippers, and they're dancing around with bare arms and legs and toes. It makes me shiver just looking at them.

Part of the problem is that they're both such clothes horses. I dress them warmly, and half an hour later they've changed into dresses. Babs is a great believer in dressing for the occasion: she changes for lunch, for dinner, for bed, and once or twice in the afternoon just for kicks. She doesn't always pick appropriate outfits, but she has her own sense of style, and if I choose an outfit that offends, I hear all about it.

At least I haven't seen the girls in white shoes after Labor Day.

3 comments:

F. S. Poesy said...

I get complaints from my 7 yr old when he's looking chilly and I tell him to put on a long sleeve t-shirt. It's as if I was asking him to wear a straitjacket. I chalk it up to high metabolism and a focus that is unique to the young. There are times I swear he'd have to be physically shivering before he would take his mind off his play task of the moment.

Anonymous said...

I think they inherited it from their Uncle Will....I remember the first winter after I met your family, I mentioned to Will that it bothered me that he never wore a coat (that mothering instinct always kicks in). He gave me one of his looks and told me not to bother to buy him a coat because he wouldn't wear it anyway....hehe...
My oldest son never wants to wear long sleeves either...drives me crazy...he goes to bed in shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt and I'm freezing in my winter pj's...maybe it has something to do with their metabolism..blessed day to you all and hope you get warm!

mrsdarwin said...

Will is nuts... I remember when the family went to Mackinaw Island and the Upper Peninsula the summer before I went to college. We trekked up to Lake Superior (this was August) and several of us dipped our toes in and declared it icy. Will waded in and splashed around for a while in the frigid surf. I think I wore a sweatshirt on that entire trip -- it was unreasonably cold for August. Still, if I could trade a Texas summer for a Lake Superior summer I'd do it in a heartbeat.