Getting Dressed

This is my daily challenge -- not finding something for me to wear, that is an entirely different story, one that usually comes up on Sunday mornings when my jeans with the hole in the seam and the Eddie Bauer fleece won't quite do. My daily challenge is not losing it with Elliott when it's time to get dressed. Or not helping with the items he can easily do on his own. Or not raising my voice when we are about to miss the bus. Or not holding a grudge about the getting-dressed episode for the rest of the day. Why is it so hard? When he was first learning where to put his body parts into the various holes in the clothing I had a lot more patience. But I've witnessed it! He knows where everything goes and can get all the parts in the right places (give or take a few tags in the front). But there are so many more interesting things to do: cuddling in his comforter and sheets sans ropa; oh, there's a book on the floor, does it have a table of contents? Yes!; And this book over here, where is the date due paper for it?; Oh, there is my brother getting dressed, would he like to wrestle? The distractions go on and on until I either cave in and decided getting to the bus and getting on with our day is worth enabling his behavior or until I hover over him and step by step ask him what is next. And then, being winter, we do it all over again once we're downstairs. Boots, snow pants, but no, honey, it doesn't work in that order, now jacket, where are your mittens and hat? Okay, let's go. We'll zip outside. At least it is warm enough for that. The competition factor works great for Dietrich -- all I have to do is suggest a contest or race and he is off! But Elliott would rather be in the sheets or a book than win anything.

Clothes for Sunday are sitting out tonight. Maybe he will show up for breakfast all dressed! Then again, maybe his lack of focus on getting dressed isn't so different from my own blank stares into the closet. Though no one is watching me, there are plenty of days that it takes me far longer to find something to wear than necessary. Almost everyday I forget socks or decide on different ones and have to dash back up two flights before leaving the house. It is the transition between the comforts of home and facing the world. Maybe that requires a little more snuggling for Elliott, or another look at a book, or one last run around the basement before he can put it all together and see the world today.