A Jen Too Many

Well, sweetheart, in all the furor this evening* I forgot to tell you about the conversation I had on the way home from preschool with Youngest Girl Child.

"Mommy," she started, "are you the boss of me?"

And, being the perspicacious, quick-witted mother that I am, I responded, "Huh?"

She repeated herself. "Are you the boss of me?"

The answer came to mind immediately. No, you are the boss of you. I figured, however, that beginning with that response was going to lead to trouble and questioning of parental authority down the line, so I started by asserting said authority.

"Well, I am your mommy, which means ..." I started to flounder a bit, the words to express the concept just not coming to mind. "That I, umm, have authority to tell you what to do." Yeah, that's good, Jennifer, I thought. Like she knows what the word 'authority' means.

I gave up. I try to be smart enough to know when I'm taking the wrong track.

"You are the boss of you," I told her. "Heavenly Father made it so that you are able to make decisions for yourself about what you are going to do." I shoved back the frantic impulse to qualify the statement by pointing out that it is a Very Good Idea to listen to your parents.

And then the discussion turned a corner I hadn't expected.

"So, I don't have to dress modestly," she decided.

Bwaaah! What?

"Uh, no, sweetie. That's one of those things that I have to use my authority as your mother on, and not let you do. You have to dress modestly."

"But Carly's parents let her dress immodestly."

Ohhh! That's what this is all about. I'd seen Carly's outfit when I picked YGC up. In spite of the coolth of the day, Carly had been wearing a halter, miniskirt, and strappy heeled sandals. Carly's mother had expressed to me that she was less than happy about the outfit, considering the weather, but that she had let Carly decide what to wear and this was it.

YGC was going on now about how beautiful Carly's outfit was. I replied that Carly and her parents were very nice people, but they didn't see the world the way we did. YGC responded that it was alright to wear costumes, and they weren't modest either.

"Well, yes," I admitted, regretting ever letting them accept those costumes (you know the ones I mean), "but, remember, you only get to wear your costumes inside. You're not allowed to wear them outside."

"Halloween costumes aren't modest and we wear them outside," she retorted. (Are we raising a lawyer here, darling?) "They don't have sleeves."

"Yes, they are modest." I wasn't going to let that one get past me. "I always make you dress modestly for Halloween. Remember we put a shirt under the costume?"

She conceded the point, and the discussion segued into upcoming Halloween preparations, the confirmation that she wants to be a princess this year** and people she wants to come to her birthday party.

Which left me wondering - who taught her the phrase "the boss of me"? Or is that just a childhood osmosis thing?

Also, I really, really need to ditch the old store-bought costumes and sew up a bunch of new fairy princess superhero dresses. With sleeves.
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*Putting groceries away, getting dinner ready, dealing with YGC's skyscraper temper tantrum, and Oldest Girl Child's teary fit.

**Gee, what a surprise. I never would have guessed.