Gabrielleis a clothes horse. She goes through 476 different outfits every dayand her dresser drawers are in a constant state of disaster. And as youcan see in the picture, she comes up with some … interestingcombinations. I have an inkling that I should probably restrict thenumber of clothing changes she’s allowed in a day, but there’ssomething about a girl’s need to change her look that speaks to me. Imean, if you feel just dreadful in those purple leggings and oversizedsweater you do need to change,right? If that petal pink skirt and flowered turtleneck you put on tenminutes ago are starting to feel old and tired, should you have to keepthem on? A change of clothes can make all the difference in a girl’sday.
Luckily enough, Gabby has a variety of clothes to go through. Beingthe youngest of three girls, she has her share of hand-me-downs. Girls,I have found, are actually capable of handing down useful stuff in goodcondition. My boys’ clothing doesn’t often survive past a singlewear-er. I’m not judging here, boys. Just reporting.
Anyway, between hand-me-downs from her sisters and other families,Gabby has done rather well for herself. She has at least ten pairs ofbuckle shoes, for example, and I didn’t buy a single one of them. Justbecause the clothing has come to us easily, however, doesn’t mean wedon’t need to be grateful. I recently decided to work on makingGabrielle more aware of her material blessings.
This morning when she came downstairs in a pair of purple corduroysshe received as a Christmas present, I said, “Those are some prettypants, Gabby! And they’ll keep you warm, too. Let’s thank God for allthe nice clothing you have.”
Gabby looked uncertain. She looked down at her pants and then back up at me with a worried expression.
“I don’t think we should do that,” she explained. “I already thanked Grandpa for these.”