All Girly-fied

Well, I don't know what to say. This being Cinco de Mayo, I got the urge to be festive. This entailed a brightly colored top, white peasant skirt and one of my favorite necklaces worn as a belt. My cute flower sandals exposed too much to the cold weather and would echo loudly at school, so they were passed over for some brown clunky shoes. I didn't have much time to get ready this morning (being a good girl, I had spent most of my time exercising), so I decided to let my natural waves alone. I stepped out of the bathroom and was greeted by a very funny look from Mark. "What", I asked. Of course, I received the standard "nothing". Well, that look very well meant something and I wasn't about to go all day wondering if something was wrong. He explained that I rarely wear a skirt and, although he likes me in a skirt, he just wasn't used to it. He made me stand back and he took another look. Uncomfortable with the scrutiny, I donned a slip just to make sure everything was covered. On my way out, Tobias kept stroking my leg and saying, "dress" quite proudly. Even the girls were fascinated with my wardrobe.

Feeling thoroughly self-conscious, I made my way to the car and quickly realized why it has been so long since I wore a skirt. It was COLD! I made it to school uneventfully.

Although, now that I think about it, there was a rather funny thing. Yesterday, one of the traffic signs along my way had been tagged. Where it used to say 35 mph, it then said 85 mph along with the artist's tag. I was rather amused at the time, because who doesn't want to drive faster every once in a while. Well, it had already been replaced today with a fresh new 35 mph sign.

Back to school. I walked down the hall and felt even more self conscious. If my family reacted so uniformly, what could I expect from my co-workers. I might add that I have never once worn a dress or skirt since my start date at the beginning of November, with the exception of the Christmas party where everyone was dressed up. I made it to the classroom with no comment. In fact no one took more notice of me than usual. That is until I took my coat off. I stood up to escort the kid to recess and all the girls' heads swiveled quickly my way. Oh, no. I quickly put my finger to my mouth to quiet them before they started. Flood of questions diverted, they made it to recess. Upon their return to class, each of the girls at the front of the line reached out to touch my belted necklace. A little stunned, no one has felt entitled to that action since my last pregnant belly, I was quite relieved when the boys didn't follow suit. Class ensued as normal. Then it happened. As I was leaving for the day, my co-worker did it. "I meant to tell you that you look beautiful today.", she said. The nicest thing anyone had said to me all day! I guess it was worth all the scrutiny. Thanks Aimee, you rock!