Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Dressing a Boy...Oh Boy!

Today the Babe and I were waiting in line to pay in a children's clothing store. I lay the items I was purchasing on the counter and was startled by a woman behind me cooing loudly at the stroller.

I turned to her quickly to make sure she wasn't the umpteenth person trying to touch the Bub. She wasn't, she kept her distance, while she held some cute baby outfits in her hands.

Being female, I couldn't help saying, "Cute clothes."
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The woman looked at me with surprise, nodded and cooed some more at the Babe.
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After I paid and was about to leave the store, the woman became chatty.
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"Do you have a hard time dressing your boy?"
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Huh? I assumed she was referring to the dire lack of happy colors in the mini-male clothing collections, beige being quite popular in many stores.
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"Oh, no. I find lots of colors for him in this store."
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"Yes, but don't you wish you had a girl?"
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"Uh...no." I wasn't sure what she was getting at.
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"But a girl you can dress up, you know, really cute."
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Ah, now I got it. There are mothers out there who think their babes are dolls. Right. I'd forgotten about that.
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Clothes are to me, albeit as cute as they can be, a practical matter. I dress the Babe in warm clothes when it's cold. I take the very same clothes off him, when he's too hot (which is often, therefore he usual sports the nickname Tarzan Boy).
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I also try to choose clothes that match his personality: serene with great bouts of griggles and laughter.
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And to answer the question, no, I wouldn't trade my beautiful firstborn who happens to be a boy, for a girl, just so I can dress him up.

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