shark shirt

Last week our elementary school hosted a Wacky Tacky day.  My boys were enthusiastic about a break from uniforms and a chance to show their creative spirits.  We combed their closets for clothes combinations that were truly disturbing.  They looked supremely tacky! (my camera phone does not adequately convey...)


Josh wore a beloved aqua button down shirt that is covered with navy sharks.  I did not buy this for him, and had successfully hidden it away for several months.  He paired with with a bright orange shark shirt, brown plaid shorts and black shoes. As we were getting ready to head out the door, Josh said "I really don't see what is tacky about this.  I think I look good!"  That is Josh in a nutshell for you.


Since that morning, Josh has worn the aqua shark shirt 6 times.  Today he wore it over a black basketball tshirt and blue basketball shorts.  He loves the way it flows out behind him when he runs.  He loves the sharks on it.  He thinks it looks cool.


Josh has always had a strong sense of personal style.  The problem, as Steve succinctly puts it - "He is stubborn and he is wrong.  A bad combination."  When Josh was three, he went through a year long phase where every outfit was topped with a baseball cap and several strands of colorful mardi gras beads.  We were more than relieved when he outgrew that.  Josh likes bright, casual clothes.  He likes his hair long and plastered straight down on his forehead.  He gets annoyed when his mother says something does not match.  He wants to wear his tennis shoes at all times so he is ready for any chance to play basketball.  


I don't want people to wonder if Josh has a mother.  I want people to see his beautiful eyes and warm smile, not be blinded by his loud color combinations.  But today I caught a glimpse of him checking himself out in the car window.  And smiling.  I love that my boy feels good about the way he looks.   So I let him wear his sharkish outfit today when we went out to eat.  I held his hand, and my head up high.   He will wear it again tonight, probably tomorrow too.


I read this wonderful Steve Jobs quote this week.  "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.  Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking.  Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary."


Go Josh!  For beating your own drum.  For being your own person.  You inspire me.