Perfectionist Parent

Today we went to the park, because it was so gorgeous outside! It was 60 degrees and we decided the kids needed a little treat. I guess all the other parents thought that, too, because the park was packed (even though it was suppertime)! The particular park we went to had a sign saying that it was designed for 5-12-year-olds (we'd never been there before), but our kids had fun anyway. They still had baby swings, and that is a favorite in the Folken household.

Anyway, I was watching many of the kids running around. There was a little blonde girl, probably 4 or 5, running around in a white dress with bright pink flowers on it. She was also wearing pink sparkly dress shoes. I was kind of freaking out that she was going to get her dress dirty or ruin her shoes. Then I started to analyze all the clothes of the kids at the park, some of them barefoot and some with dirty clothes from the sand and the slide. My mind wandered to 2 or 3 years from now when those will be my children, independently going down slides and chasing each other in a game of tag. I frightened myself to think what I would naturally say about their behavior: "Don't ruin your clothes!" "Don't get those shoes dirty!" I came to the conclusion that I am somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to how my kids dress. I try to make sure they're clean (this is particularly hard during Isaiah's drooling stage when the front of his shirt is constantly wet) when we go out and that their clothes are in good enough shape to sell at my yard sale in the summer. But I think I will spend the next 2-3 years lightening up on my nit-picky ways. I will dress them appropriately when we go to the park and they can be sure to have fun in whatever way they deem fit.