Cowboy Cooper's Western Day

You know those kinds of dreams that some people have where they show up to the first day of a new job wearing their pajamas? The kind where you dream that it is Christmas morning and you forgot to buy presents? Well, I had a real-life day like that recently. It was a day a few weeks ago that I was running at full-speed from the time that I woke up. The kind where everything on my Mommy-schedule had to fall in to place perfectly or all heck could break loose (and by that, I mean I would melt into a heap and bawl like a baby). Anyway, it was a very busy day. And on that very busy day I pulled into Cooper's preschool carline to see that all of the teachers that were helping kids out of their cars were dressed in cowboy boots and cowboy hats and bandanas. The thought crossed my mind that it might be the "Western Day" that I had a vague recollection of reading about, but I instantly thought, "No! I would not have missed putting that on my calendar!... They must be "advertising" for Western Day that I am sure is next week." Lo and behold, however, when the teacher-lady opened my van door, and I said, "This isn't Western Day, is it?" She not-so-happily (and as if I had forgotten the most important day of the school year) said, "Yes, it is." I instantly had (irrational???) tears well up in my eyes and imagined my little boy being the one and only non-cowboy in his class, instantly rearranged my schedule in my head, and said, "I'll go get Cooper some cowboy clothes right now". I flew back home, flew through the house and grabbed some cowboy garb, and flew back to the school, and I made it back to Cooper's classroom just moments before his little class headed out the door to get their cowboy pictures taken.

And wasn't he just the cutest cowboy ever?!?

I know that the whole crying-over-cowboy-clothes thing is a little irrational and is probably something that only a mother would understand. I just could not bear the thought of falling down on my mommy-job, and I had run out of brain-space and emotional tolerance. In the end, we pulled it off... Cooper had a great Western Day, and I got to exhale and run my errands. I think I might have even gotten a Starbucks to help me through the rest of that crazy day. And no matter if you understand it or not, I'd call that a successful day.