In what I imagine to be a preview of coming teenage attractions, Connery has been demanding to pick out his own outfits each morning. On the weekends, that's no problem. When I'm sending him off to school looking like he just stepped out of the dressing room at the Boutique for Children Who Don't Match and Have No Interest in Size Labels, it's more of an issue.
Part of it is my own fault. I haven't done the drawer purge for a few months, so not everything he can pull out to wear fits anymore or is of sufficient non-stained-ness to allow for public consumption. Our compromise was for me to pick out several mix-n-match shirts and pants and allow him to choose among those. But even that hasn't gone flawlessly.
I came out the other day to find him shirtless and peevish because I had not put "the dog shirt" on offer. I didn't even know he had a dog shirt. When I told him to go get it, he returned with a sweatshirt festooned with football-playing dogs that he outgrew sometime last fall. When he put it on, its sleeves barely reached mid-forearm and any movement caused exposure of his tender little belly. "I could tuck it in!" he offered, leaving me to wonder where he has been learning these things. In the end I left it up to him and he chose to wear it. I feel that he should have to wear a small disclaimer badge indicating that his mother was not involved in the choosing.
When Chip got home and saw what Connery was wearing, a whole new wrinkle emerged. It turns out that Connery had come to him the night before to lobby for continued wardrobe access to the dog shirt and had been told in no uncertain terms that the shirt was too small and therefore was inappropriate. Crucially, however, dad did not take the shirt and put it on the too-small shelf, thus removing the temptation. When Connery realized that mom and dad had not communicated about said dog shirt, he took advantage of the situation.
So here's the dialog of Chip returning home from work to find Connery in the dog shirt:
Chip: "You're wearing that dog shirt!"
Connery: "Yes, I am. Are you surprised?"
Score: Parents, 0. Child, 1.