Come Hell or High Waters

It wasn’t until I turned around in the car to talk to my son that I realized something was “off” with the outfit I dressed him in that day. This poor kid’s pants were about four inches too short and his socks were in clear view, as well as part of his leg. Did I somehow put the boy in shorts? Did I shrink his pants doing the laundry? Was there a flood that I didn’t know about?

Nope, none of the above. So, why, oh why would I send my boy off to his fancy smancy preschool in those ridiculous pants? Well, here is my sad, sorry, Questionable Choices in Parenting answer: The kid just won’t stop growing.

Apparently, all you need is lots of macaroni and cheese and chocolate milk to have HUGE growth spurts, because that is all this kid consumes. Monkey has always been super tall, but recently he has shot up and become quite the beefcake. Actually, he is more long and lean, and now here we are, just a few weeks from spring and warm weather, and this kid has zero clothes that fit him.

So, are you thinking I will immediately run out and buy him more clothes? The short answer is NO! I refuse to buy this kid a whole new wardrobe right now. In a few short weeks, we will ditch his too short pants and shirt sleeves that don’t come even close to touching his wrists, for spring playground gear: t-shirts, shorts, bug spray, sunblock, mud and mulch. I won’t waste money on pants and shirts this kid will wear for less than two months. He will just have to walk around looking like a fool, because his mom is too cheap to buy new clothes right now.

I know this probably sounds bad, but if he was, say, thirteen and he had this growing problem, I would totally rush out to all of the cool and hip stores to shop for him. I would take my flashlight to walk through the darkness of Hollister; I would use earplugs to protect my hearing from the blasting tunes while I perused American Eagle; and I would completely embarrass him while wearing a gas mask to prevent inhaling the cologne fumes wafting through Abercrombie and Fitch. Those teenager years are rough enough, and no one needs their cheap mother messing up their style.

My point here is that he is only three years old, and I am sure no one (except other parents, teachers and school administrators) will see him in these ridiculous pants.

What do you think: Should I go out and buy him new clothes he will only wear for two months, at best? Would you?

Amanda Mushro is a mommy of two who blogs at Questionable Choices in Parenting.