Sometimes I Waffle

It's back to school time soon and kids are out shopping, both with and without parents. I see my sons' friends posting about going to The Gap and Hollister and suddenly I feel like I missed something. Like I have forgotten to show up at the parent Olympics and that makes me a failure.

You see NONE of my kids have ever bought a thing in any of those stores. We have been given them as gifts and I love them, but we have personally never taken our kids there...ever. They have never been in any of those stores for the purpose of school shopping. We usually school shop at thrift stores or they wear hand me downs.

Shame on me?

No, this is where I remind myself I am not creating carbon copies. I want my kids to understand the label doesn't matter.  Not with clothes or people. That's my job right? I am not saying that shopping at those places is a bad thing, it just isn't OUR thing. My oldest boy refuses to even wear clothes with labels any more. Refuses. AJ doesn't mind.

My Boys and their buddy playing a card game Their buddy invented 

AJ starts high school this year. I want him to fit in so badly. I thought about buying him the "cool kid" stuff. Then I thought about it. AJ is freaking awesome all on his own. He is thoughtful,opinionated,intelligent, and strong willed. He doesn't care what other people think most of the time.

It's hard to be different in a world that says it's all about what you wear, do, think, say, eat, drive, and live in. It's hard not to care.

If I am going to raise these kids to be their best, then they deserve to understand that labels are for food and nothing else.  Because no where else will a label give you any idea of what is inside a person. People should be judged on character, integrity and tenacity not on how much their shoes cost.

But sometimes, when I see all of their friends in the nice cars,clothes and houses... just sometimes I waflle