We had a couple of warm days this week where the temperature got up into the upper eighties or low nineties. It was the first time since last summer that I had asked the kids to pick out short sleeve shirts to wear. Today, temperatures cooled back down to the low seventies. I told Miranda and Eleanor that they should pick out long sleeve shirts again. I had to explain to them that today was going to be colder and that they had to wear long sleeve shirts if they didn’t want to be cold.
After they got dressed, we were starting to head downstairs, and Eleanor suddenly said, “Daddy, you’re wearing short sleeves! You’re going to be cold.”
ME: “I’m not going outside later. I’m going to stay inside, so I won’t be cold.”
ELEANOR: “But how are we getting to school? I can’t drive.”
ME: “I’ll take you to school, but after that, I’m going to work and then I stay inside all day.”
ELEANOR: “At school?”
ME: “No, at work. I go to work after I drop you off at school.”
ELEANOR (after thinking for a moment): “Who will pick us up from school?”
ME: “Mommy will.”
She seemed satisfied with that. I wonder, though, if she really thinks that I don’t go outside at all during the day. Maybe I should have just said that I don’t get cold as easily.