1 Mother 2 Another

First, a little background:


You probably know that Maddie loves all things Ariel. She knows
more about that little mermaid than Hans Christian Anderson ever
did, and has three or four of the Ariel Barbie-type dolls that she
loves to dress up. They’ve got a variety of different
clothing – fins, wedding gowns, pink dress – but they
all have the standard purple-shell-bra-and-green-fin/skirt
ensemble.


Ok, so now to the story.

I recently went underwear shopping with
Cora in tow (that was a barrel-of-monkeys-fun, I can tell you, but
a blog for another day) and picked up the few items I truly needed.
I also needed a few new bras – my underwear drawer is largely
pre-child, if that tells you anything – but didn’t want
to pay the sixty bucks they cost full-price, so I hit the clearance
rack at Nordstrom’s (which, by the way, has a great lingerie
department and usually has really good fitters if you discover
you’ve, um, changed since you had kids) and thumbed through
their offerings. I found two bras which fit really well but which
were on clearance because they’re, well, quite colorful.
Beggars can’t be choosers, though, and I brought them home.


I was wearing one of my new bras the next day, and mid-afternoon I
headed upstairs to change into my workout clothes so I could go
teach. Maddie trailed along after me as she was in mid-story, and
chatted the whole time I picked out my clothes and started
changing.


I pulled off my shirt and stood there in my new bra, an electric
purple one with shocking pink trim all the way around it. Maddie
stopped mid-sentence and stared, silent, before breathing
excitedly, “Oh, Mommy, I LOVE your shells! Are they new?
They’re beautiful!”


I guess there are worse nicknames for lingerie than shells –
and yes, I will never allow her to live this down. Before she
marches down the aisle at her wedding, I will tenderly zip her into
her beautiful white dress and whisper, “Nice shells, by the
way.”