Alas! The hoodie that was!

ASid did not ever care about appearances. Just the other day, he wore a size 12 pair of jeans instead of a size 14 he needed to wear. I don't even know where he found that old pair! I pointed that out to him and he brushed it off with "I don't care!". He looked a bit odd with his ankles exposed, but no one can say he wasn't warned about it! I am sure, if his friends are honest, they would have pointed that out to him as well.

On the other hand, Hans is very particular about his clothing. ‎Even for Halloween, he likes to search for that perfect costume that speaks to him. He likes to look good and he cares about appearances. There is this one hoodie he cares a bit too much about and this is a story about that hoodie. 

This hoodie is definitely one of a kind as in no one at school had this hoodie. It became synonymous with Hans. There were times he wore it every single day of a week. After 2 years of wearing that hoodie, I had to literally retire it. It was getting too small for Hans.

A couple of days ago, ‎my friend Y and I dropped off Hans and her older son J1 at their Art class and decided to go for a walk. Y's younger son J2 did not have a jacket on him. Since our home is closer to the Art class, we decided to go and get something that J2 could wear. As I was looking for appropriate clothing, I saw the infamous hoodie. It seemed like the perfect piece of clothing for J2 to wear and it also turned out to be a perfect fit!

We had a good walk and went back to get the older boys from the Art class. As soon as Hans saw us, he looked like he was going to cry. He insisted that he wanted to go home immediately. I insisted that we were early and that he should stay put for the next 10 minutes and wait for the class to finish. Art class has become a little stressful for me recently as Hans has become chatty and the teacher has complained about it quite a bit‎. I actually dread what I have to hear about at each pickup!

After 10 minutes, Hans comes back to me and this time the waterworks were on full force. I looked at his Art teacher with concern and she said Hans was very good that day. She had no complaints. So, I pulled Hans into an empty room and asked him to explain his tears. Through several sobs, he let me know that he couldn't stand someone else wearing his beloved hoodie!

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Hans couldn't wear this hoodie anymore; so what difference does it make?! He responded that he would like to preserve it for the next generation. The drama lasted a good 10 minutes and it seemed excessive to say the least. Finally, Hans did calm down. As we walked back home, my friend Y guessed that it had something to do with the hoodie! How predictable is Hans?!

I was a little embarrassed that my ‎child could be so petty. After all, it was just a hoodie - a hoodie that had seen good times and that didn't fit anymore. I even wondered why I have been chosen to deal with all the hoodie problems of the world. Tad exaggerated, but it felt like that!

I changed my mind later that day when Hans had to say something like the following before he went to bed:

I really didn't want to cry, but the tears just came out when I saw my hoodie. I am sorry for upsetting you.

When I heard that, I had to say to myself, "Damn it Jim! He is only 8 years old! He is not God and I am definitely no God!"

And here ends another hoodie tale.

Note: I thought I already posted a hoodie story; but apparently this is the first one!