New Phase

We have entered a new phase in our house. And we have not entered this phase gracefully. No, we have jumped in head first with what one may classify as a slight obsession. The wonderful phase of "Let me see how many times I can change my clothes today and in doing so, let me see how much extra laundry I can make for Mama and just how many times I can destroy my neatly folded drawers all while slowly chipping away at my Mama's sanity."

Yes, Sam, at the ripe old age of three and a half has suddenly developed a love for fashion. He changes his clothes over and over. And over and over again. I encourage him to pick out his own shirt and jeans and his pjs at night, but my sweet son can't be satisfied. He wears a shirt for thirty minutes, remembers he has a really cool polar bear shirt, rips of the current shirt and puts on the new pick. Then he suddenly remembers he has a super cool dinosaur shirt and pirate shirt and monster shirt and feels it is absolutely necessary to sport each of those as well.

He really needs no motivation for a sudden wardrobe change, but certain things warrant an instant switcharoo. Like a drop of milk on his sleeve or splash of water on his collar or a speck of dirt on his pants. These mishaps produce instant chaos and you better stand back, because the clothes are sure to come flying off in a record pace. And we don't just change the soiled or wet item of clothing. No, thank you. We change everything. Everything. Shirt, pants, underwear, socks and shoes. Everything. Just today, we have had six shirt changes, two underwear changes, three pant changes, two sock changes and three shoe changes. And today has been a slow day.

So I am trying to be patient. I am really, really trying. Me, the one who folds all the shirts the exact same way, placing them meticulously in the drawers, placing the recently washed shirts neatly underneath the others so as to keep a nice rotation going. Me, the one who hates having clothes in the laundry basket waiting to be washed. Me, the one who works very, very hard to preserve those cute clothes by embracing spot removal as a passion not to be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone. Yes, I actually enjoy doing laundry and these days I am getting my fill of it.

Another new thing at our house. A brand new phase. A little annoying, but it's another lesson in patience and understanding for me. And it looks like I'm going to need the patience of Job for this one. Lord, help me.