Last Summer, my parents surprised my two young daughters with matching patriotic dresses, emblazoned with Minnie Mouse. The top of the dress was red with a picture of Minnie's face, and the bottom was blue with white stars all over it. They were absolutely adorable, and my kids loved wearing them! I can still picture them delightedly twirling in their dresses and giving their grandparents a big hug. They've worn those dresses countless times and as you may have guessed, the dresses became their Fourth of July [1] outfits that year. I had been meaning to buy my kids something nice to wear for Independence Day, but with my busy schedule, I simply ran out of time. Before you ask, no, I didn't ask my parents to buy outfits for my kids. They decided to do so all on their own — and that's actually very normal for our family.
In fact, any cute dress you see my daughters wearing, I can guarantee you that my parents bought it. Not because we asked them to or we needed them to; it's just because my parents wanted to. My parents, especially my mom, have always spoiled the heck out of my girls . . . and I'm not just talking about material things. My parents spend lots of quality time with my kids [3]. They do art projects with my girls or involve them in cooking and gardening. They've been an absolute blessing in my children's lives and I know they treasure the time they spend together. Seeing how much my parents and kids love and adore each other warms my heart so, so much.
But of course, my parents spoil my children with material things as well, the biggest one being clothes. It seems like practically every week, my mom comes home with something along the lines of a cute reversible sequin shirt [4] for my 7-year old or a trendy new dress for my 9-year old. At times, I feel guilty that my mom buys more clothes for my own kids than I do. I've told my mom that it's not necessary, but she says she loves to do it, because it brings them (and her) joy. And she's right, because my mom definitely knows what my kids love to wear.
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Since my mom is so close with my daughters, she has a knack for picking out winning outfits for them, every single time. Truthfully, my mom is much better at picking out clothes for my daughters than I am. It started when my daughters became toddlers and could begin voicing their opinions. My mom would often come shopping with us [5] and she'd take note of what her granddaughters liked and disliked. I'd pick out a pretty lace dress for my daughter, but my mom would remind me that although it looked beautiful, my daughter would probably complain about being itchy the entire time she had it on — and she was right. And if my daughter saw a shirt that she really, really wanted but was out of my budget, guess who'd come to the rescue and buy it for her? My mom. During any given month, I'd say my mom buys my daughters at least two to three adorable outfits, and I'm so grateful for her generosity.
Sure, it's a bit odd that most of the clothes hanging in my children's closets were bought by my parents. And like I said, I do feel guilty about it at times. But whenever I bring this up to my mom, she always reassures me that she buys her granddaughters clothes because seeing them happy makes her happy. Though, I admit, it's also helped my family with our finances. The money I would have spent on my children's clothes goes toward other things, like helping them save for college — which I know my parents also feel good about. When it comes down to it, I think all my parents really want is to see their children and grandchildren live happy lives with as few cares in the world as possible. If they can help achieve that, they will. Like many grandparents, my parents love to spoil their grandchildren [7] and buying my daughters clothes is just one of the ways my parents choose to do so. It makes my girls happy, it makes my parents happy, and it makes me happy. Everyone wins!