This morning, the temperature was something like 17 degrees, 7 if you consider the wind chill, which I do. My teenager wouldn't put on boots. She wanted to wear slippers that the kids these days wear as shoes. Since this is complete craziness when five inches of snow is on the ground and the bus stop is all the way at the end of the road, well out of sight, with not one sidewalk shovelled (we suburbanites are getting lazy lately), I insisted on boots. She argued and then got upset with me when she was late for school....
She has three pairs of boots to choose from: her suede two-sizes-too-small boots that she insists still fit her feet, her new suede boots that I spent too much money on and am on the edge of taking from her so my feet can be warm, and new stylish boots her step-mom gave her that she adores, but not enough to put them on the day after a snow storm.
I am sure this is a battle of wills, a battle of wills that may well go on for the next 3.5 years, until she goes to college and realizes that she will be really cold and sick if she doesn't dress for the weather.
This is a battle I am not going to back down from. Nor will she quite likely. I am stubborn enough to hide her slippers until the spring. I will be up front about hiding her shoes - the problem for her will be that I have an absolutely terrible memory and will never remember where I put them. So perhaps I should warn her I will hide (and most assuredly accidentally lose) the slippers if she doesn't have the sense to wear boots when there is snow on the ground. Maybe that will be enough...maybe not.
I realize she shares my independent, strong will and may actually hide her boots if I hide her slippers, leaving her only with gym shoes or flip flops....
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