Twin Day

Please excuse the exceptionally bad nature of this photo. I was super sick while taking it and couldn't make myself take another one. But the story is worth telling.

A few weeks ago, June brought home a flyer announcing an upcoming Spirit Day for school--Twin/Triplet Day. In other words, dress up like a friend day.

I really don't care too much about Spirit Days. Or rather, I used to care too much and now I just can't care at all. If we have something on hand, we do it. If not, we don't.

But I knew June would be devastated if she showed up for school the day after her birthday and was the only kid not dressed up like a twin.

Not to mention that June just loves the idea of a twin in general and often asks me if she can go out and find her twin or if this baby in my belly might just happen to be her twin.

So I explained the idea of Twin Day to her, and of course she was on board. I knew this could be a good social exercise for her--to find someone to be twins with and approach him/her and plan it all out beforehand. We went through the kids in her class, and she picked who she would like to be twins with and we practiced how to ask her and even planned out a generic outfit that most girls would have on hand-pink shirt and black pants.

The next day, June came home from school and didn't say anything to me about how her approach went. My brother Steve's family was in town, and we were busy and I didn't think anything of it.

The next morning, however, June came into my room and woke me up. She was bawling.

"I asked ______________, and she said NO THANKS!!"

My heart was broken.

I don't know at which exact moment I became the type of mom to be so worried about anything even resembling rejection for my kids, but I do. And I hate it about myself. Because I also don't want to orchestrate every social interaction, intervening whenever anything doesn't go well.

So on the inside I was a total bawl baby, whimpering to myself, "WHY DON'T THEY LIKE US?"

But on the outside, I stayed totally composed and bravely said, "Well, you'll just have to ask someone else!" We went through the class list again, she picked another girl, and we practiced again.

The next day, June came home and I nonchalantly asked her, "How did it go with ___________? What did she say?"

June looked at me sadly and said, "She said no. She already has a partner."

I was starting to wonder at this point if I should just intervene and ask the mom of a student to coordinate with us.

But then June brightened up and said, "So I asked ____________, and she said yes! And she wants to wear a pink shirt, black pants and a BLUE bow! Can I wear a blue bow?"

I was so relieved. Helping June navigate social interactions might be more stressful for me than it is for her. But we did it.

The End.