Why is your Mom special?

With Mother's Day rapidly approaching, the activities at preschool have been focused on all things Mom. This morning when I dropped the Girl off, I peeked through the window on my way out as I normally do, and noticed that the day's question written on the dry erase board was, "Why is your Mom special?" Of course I was curious to know how the Girl would answer that question but I continued on my way as she gets quite disgruntled if she catches me lingering at the window. My curiousity was satisfied that evening during Mom's Night at the preschool when her teacher sought me out and told me how the Girl answered the question. She answered, 'My Mom is special because the lets me wear whatever I want.'" I smiled because it's absolutely true. For the most part. Of course I insist on at least a little bit of weather appropriateness when she puts together an outfit in the morning, but other than that I leave it all up to her. It wasn't always this way. There was a period of time when I initially resisted her attempts to select her own clothes but soon I came to realize that it was making both of us unhappy. Me because I hated the arguments that would undoubtedly ensue and her because she didn't like what she was wearing. It finally dawned upon me that at this stage in her young life she doesn't have much say in what goes on and that picking out her own clothes is one way for her to have a bit of control and it's a way for her to express herself. So why not?! Apparently her teachers appreciate her unique sense of style and are always eager to see what she'll be wearing. They love her light-up Cinderella glass slippers (pictured above) as much as she does and got a real kick (no pun intended) out of the soccer shinguards that she accessorized her outfit with last week.