One Hundred

In honor of their one hundredth day of school, the boys were asked to come to school today "dressed like a 100-year old".  I thought this was an adorable way to celebrate this milestone, and threw out many ideas, not the least of which included cross-dressing as little old ladies (my personal fave), going to school in their bathrobes (don't grumpy old men hang out in their bathrobes all day?), or fashioning a cane out of a wrapping paper tube and a tennis ball (hey, I have many Stockwell Family 4th of July "best use of found material" awards under my belt).  But what I thought were my fun ideas were met with many an eye roll and general nervousness about dressing up in costume for school.  Ethan has always been self-conscious about what he does/wears/brings to school and how it will compare to what others do/wear/bring.  But Adam has always been quite the contrary - not giving two whits about what anyone else thinks.  I've always loved this about Adam.  And while he still marches mostly to the beat of his very own drummer, I am noticing that kindergarten, and perhaps the influences of his peers and his brother, are starting to make him a tad more self-aware.  Self-awareness is not always a bad thing, of course, and it's certainly part of growing up.  But I must admit I was a little sad when my generally daring and bold six-year old was hesitant to wear these amazing specs I picked up at Walmart.

  

I mean really, could this little old man get any cuter?!

After much deliberation and negotiation over Ethan's outfit ("wait, Mom, isn't this kind of old manish?", said while holding the track pants he would choose to wear every.single.day if he could), we decided to dust Ethan's hair with baby powder to give it a grayish tone. 

I loved it, he hated it ("I don't like the smell!", "No one else will have gray hair!", blah blah blah).  So I begrudgingly washed it out (after snapping a few pictures of course).
 

Ben thought the look ended up more zombie than old guy, and I have to reluctantly agree.  But my shy guy was happy with it (once his hair was returned to brown), so I am too.  

I am interested to see how much of their costumes remain when they get off the bus today, and to hear what everyone else was wearing.  I wonder if my boys will ultimately be happy with what they chose, or will wish they'd done more...or less.  As I approach the beginning of my fifth decade, I am finally at a point in my life where I really, truly, 100% do not care what anyone else thinks of me.  And this development is beginning to collide with my boys' coming of age, and a heightening awareness of how they are perceived and by whom.  This should be interesting...I suspect Ben and I are not far from being the most embarrassing parents on the planet, something the nearly forty year old in me sort of digs, but the mama in me dreads.

Happy 100 days to my adorable little old men!  And a rare full week of school (knock wood right now) to boot!