… um… clothes. Of some description.

I was at a friend’s daughter’s birthday party recently, which was held in a popular soft-play location. Lovely lady that she was, both my boys were invited, leaving me free to sip cappuccino and gossip while Akra Jr and Li’l Bhaji flung themselves into ballpits with abandon and courage rather than clinging to my leg and wanting me to come and play.

Half way through the party, I realised I could see Akra Jr on the big wavy blue slide, but Li’l Bhaji was nowhere to be seen. I wasn’t too worried – the play area was fully enclosed, he wasn’t likely to be far away from his brother and he wasn’t screaming at the top of his lungs – generally a good sign. I casually asked the table of mums and dads if anyone could spot where Li’l Bhaji was, while simultaneously remembering that he was quite short, the ballpit quite deep and I started scanning the ball surface for any fingertips waving folornly before slowly slipping under.

“Is that him? There? With the red shorts on? What’s he wearing?” One of the dads helpfully pointed to an obscure bit of the play area where a padded ceiling joist blocked my view.

My mind went blank. I had no memory whatsoever of what Li’l Bhaji was wearing that day. It hadn’t registered at all. This is not very clever, I realise. How was I going to provide a description for the police to read out on the Six O’Clock News?! “And Li’l Bhaji Naan was last seen at the soft play place wearing a blue t-shirt and black shorts… if anyone has any information please could they call our hotline”. What sort of mother was I, not being able to remember what my kids were wearing? Fortunately, I spotted him shortly afterwards (green t-shirt and blue shorts, for the record).

In my defence, I don’t dress either child, so there’s limited time for their clothing to make an impression. Akra Jr dresses himself in the mornings and has done for some time. Akra generally gets Li’l Bhaji up, changes his nappy and picks the clothes out for him. As a result, they sometimes have odd clothing combinations (perhaps that’s why I can’t remember them – by mind blanks them out to protect itself!) but having a fairly utilitarian attitude towards children’s clothing, it doesn’t bother me too much.

I do wonder though, do most parents know what their children are wearing at any given moment? What about you, if you have kids, without looking round to see – what are they wearing today? Do you know? Is it just me who has a shorter memory span than the tropical fish I keep?