My Snow Leopard

When my youngest child decides to like something, or LOVE something, she is 100% committed to the cause or the person. She could teach several adults I know, a thing or two about commitment.  The latest "in" thing for winter hats are hats with the face of animals on them, and about two months ago, my youngest decided she wanted a faux fur snow leopard hat from Claire's.  Every time we went to the mall, we had to go to Claire's and visit the hat, and then she would wear it around the store for the entire time we were in there.  Allowing her to do this was a giant step for me, because I have strong phobias about lice and other germs...yes, I have issues. And while I checked her head for nits as casually as possible after each trip, I vowed I would never let her do it again. Besides, I figured over the course of time, that her love for the hat would wane and she would no longer want to wear it, but her love did not. 

Fast forward to her birthday, and my parents made her snow leopard hat wish come true. After opening her gift, she plunked the hat on her head and her elation was complete. She did not remove the hat, not even when we went out to dinner at Bob Evan's that night. As she clomped into the restaurant with this giant hat on her head, she charmed an elderly gentleman so much that he stopped by our table to wish her a happy birthday and give her a five dollar bill. That night for bed, she insisted on wearing the hat with her footie pajamas. The child needed no covers at all, it made me have hot flashes just looking at her. The next morning, she sat at breakfast, still wearing the hat. I naively assumed that she would tire of the hat sometime that day. We traversed through a piano lesson and a grocery store trip with the hat firmly in place.  At the grocery store, a worker quite seriously informed me that I could not enter the store as they had a "no animal policy, especially snow leopards". 

It was a solid 30 hours before that hat came off her head, and that was only because it finally fell off during her sleep the second night. Additionally it has been off for a shower and long enough for her hair to dry.  I have to admit with no parental bias whatsoever, that she makes a pretty darn cute snow leopard. I asked her today what she might want for Christmas and she said, "I don't really need anything mommy.  I have a good family, and that is all I need." She has her snow leopard hat and a good family, so from her perspective, she really has everything she wants.