Mom bought some new clothes for Alice recently and decided to have Alice wear some today. Alice was reluctant, but Mom convinced her to try them. This was initially successful but later, just as it was time to leave, Alice decided that she didn’t like the pants because they were black. I asked Alice about the black dress she likes and she replied that she liked only because it had sparkly things on it. I didn’t quite catch all of Alice’s complaints, but a big one seemed to be that Cadi, a friend at school, didn’t like black and it would therefore result in social ostracism should Alice commit such a fashion mistake. Mom tried to convince Alice that Cadi sometimes work black (just a presumption, but reasonable) but Alice was not convinced.
What turned the tide was that I found Alice’s new locket / doll toy which she is her current favorite. This distraction got us over the immediate hump and we rushed out the door to take advantage of that.
When Alice and I arrived at school, who should we meet in the sign in area but Cadi and her mom. And what should Cadi be wearing except black pants. Cadi’s mom looked at me a bit strange as I directed Alice’s attention to Cadi’ pants, but I explained Alice’s little meltdown and dependence on Cadi’s fashion sense so no police were called.