Friday, October 4, 2013

The Power of Princeton

Last year, #2's school had spirit week and one of the days was called "color day". The teachers all wore shirts from their Alma Mater and the children were encouraged to wear the colors or apparel of the college they planned on attending. 

Thinking I had that one in the bag, (between Husband and I, we had six Universities to choose from, and that's another story) I asked him what school he wanted to represent. "Princeton" he answered. "It's where the first football game in the Unites States was played and it has an amazing science program. And since I want to discover unknown planets, it would be a great place to go." Not the average answer for a seven year old, but a typical #2 Aspy, response. I replied, "that is great. However, I don't have anything from Princeton. How about Cornell, Rutgers or Brooklyn Poly?" He gave the grimace, "No mom, it has to be Princeton."

It was 9pm on a Sunday night. I realized the probability of failure was quite high. I asked him:
"How about Oswego State? The head shake.
"Ohio State?" A bigger head shake.
"Seton Hall?" The "are you on crack?"head shake.
The last hail Mary:"Beijing Teacher's college?"

"No Mom, It HAS to be Princeton."

You may not feel like it is a big deal to ask that I pull a Princeton shirt out of thin air, but it is.

I thought for a minute and then responded, "We don't have a Princeton shirt and there is no place we can go to buy one right now. We have one choice; we find a black shirt and use fabric paint to write "Princeton" on it." He looked satisfied and then we went on a search through the bins and eventually found a black t-shirt. The only fabric paint I had was silver glitter. I guess it will have to do.  I took the fabric paint and carefully, wrote the word "Princeton". 

10pm. I was done and he happily went off to bed. When he woke up in the morning he put on his new shirt and wore it to school. 

He has been wearing it ever since. It is his treasure.

When his ninth birthday was approaching, Auntie Norlyn asked me what she should get him for his birthday. Without hesitation I suggested she get him some official Princeton apparel. She agreed and placed the order. 

On his birthday, he opened his present. (If you read "the Value of Clothes", 10/2, you'll understand his initial reaction.)
He was one happy boy. He now had Official Princeton gear and could take on the world as the youngest fourth grader in his class. 

And the nice thing is, that he still wears the original Princeton shirt I made for him. 

Now if he could only get early admission.....


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