Many years ago, a little girl and I went shopping. This shopping excursion was born out of a need for efficiency more than anything else: I needed to get my new little kindergartener ready for school. And the thought of buying crayons and glue sticks and kleenex and a Friday folder, plus having her try on uniforms with two little boys underfoot just sounded like a recipe for disaster. So I found a night when my husband was home, left the two precious but rambunctious boys home with him, and took my little gal to Meijer and Old Navy.
And Mommy's Nights were born.
I can vividly recall being in the dressing room at Old Navy with my little girl while she tried on navy polos and khaki skirts. She was so excited to get to wear a uniform like the big kids in our school. Buying her back to school clothes and supplies was so fun that I stretched it out a bit and if memory serves, we got ice cream afterward. And when I got home, I remember telling my husband that this is the way I wanted to shop for school supplies every year: one-on-one, in a special way, with dinner or a treat.
And so that's what we've done. For 16 years, I have taken each child out individually. Some rough math shows me a guesstimate of 66 Mommy's Nights. 66 times I've taken my littles and not-so-littles out for dinner or ice cream, snapped a selfie, laughed til we've cried, and oh yes - shopped for school supplies. Finding time for 5 nights (or mornings or afternoons sometimes - we're flexible!) every August isn't always easy, but somehow we've prioritized it every year and it's become a strong family tradition: Mommy's Nights (which in later years are sometimes called Back To School Nights) are a staple after so many years.
And this year, that little girl who was over the moon about her Old Navy uniforms is going to go on her last Mommy's Night. She's starting her senior year of college and next year won't need dorm supplies or notebooks labeled for each class. And her last Mommy's Night is going to look a little different - we're not only shopping for back to school items, but also for her wedding!
How did it happen so fast? I don't know. I just don't know. But I do know that while she's not the gap-toothed little gal in the Old Navy dressing room anymore, she's still that same girl - happy to shop with her mom and laugh till we cry. Excited about what's next (leave behind the uniforms - how about a wedding dress!) and happy to share the moments with her mom.
Thankfully I have many more years yet with her younger siblings to carry on this tradition. And also. . .my college senior is going to be a teacher after she graduates. . .so maybe she'd humor her mom for a back-to-school-as-the-teacher Mommy's Night next summer. :)
A few other posts I've written about our Mommy's Night tradition can be found here and here and here. :)
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