Picture Day

"You know what I've noticed?" A colleague new to our building asked me this morning.

I tilted my head. "What?"

"The boys are waaaaaay more dressed up for picture day than the girls."

I looked around the classroom. Anecdotally, she was right. One boy wore a jacket, several had collared shirts, and many had product in their hair to keep the part razor sharp. But that turned out to be just one class. Later in the day, several girls showed up in dresses and cute outfits they do not usually wear to school. 

When I was in school, picture day was huge, and everyone came dressed up. In kindergarten, my mom gave me a home permanent to add some body to my fine blond hair. She combed and pinned it to perfection before sending me off. 

She was aghast when next she saw me. After a day of K, my outfit was askew and my hair a mess. "Is that what you looked like for your picture?" she asked.

I shrugged.

"How did you smile?" she said.

I showed her a toothless grimace that at least showed my dimple. She shook her head, knowing what the pictures we got back a few weeks later would show.

"I've worn this dress the last three years for picture day!" one of the students told me this morning.

I nodded with some admiration. "I read about a teacher once who wore the exact same sweater on picture day every year for 20 years," I told her. "I really wish I'd thought of that!"

"It's never too late," she advised me.

Oh, but it is! I thought. Even so, I shrugged agreeably and climbed the stairs to strike my pose.