As soon as I saw the day-of-the-week undies I knew that my four-year-old daughter would love them.
They were adorable, each pair had a different baby animal under the day of the week and they were trimmed with silver ribbon. To be honest, I wished that they came in my size too.
I clicked ‘add to basket’ and basked in the glow of future adoration.
The undies arrived (along with an assortment of other bits and pieces) and my little one took great pleasure in helping me pull open the box.
“These are for you” I said grinning manically as I handed her the packet.
She squealed and hugged the undies to her chest.
Yes! A parenting win! Who knew that something as simple as new undies could bring so much pleasure?
But while the cute baby animal day-of-the-week undies have continued to bring my daughter happiness they have brought me nothing but misery.
The trouble with day of the week undies is that you have to wear the right pair on the right day. And if you don’t? The consequences will be severe. Life as we know it will be over. The world will end. The universe will implode.
At least, that’s the way my daughter sees it.
If I can’t find the right pair on the right day she loses her mind. There is foot stamping, crying and rage.
One morning she was so devastated that I couldn’t find ‘Tuesday’ that I grabbed a texta and wrote ‘Tuesday’ on another pair.
It’s really not an ideal way to begin the day.
I know it’s a first world problem. I know I should probably just be more organised with the laundry or use it as a ‘teaching moment’; “you won’t always get your own way. Sometimes you just have to be ok with wearing ‘Friday’ on Wednesday. That’s life”
I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my six-and-a-bit years of parenting. But number one on my list of regrets is buying those bloody day-of-the week undies.
I asked other parents to tell me their parenting regrets to see if others shared my underwear related remorse.
Turns out I am not alone.
Pip says that she regrets introducing her kids to Frozen [insert Let It Go reference here].
Nicola regrets buying her kids a karaoke machine.
Tegan says that she regrets teaching her kid the time. “Now he knows when I am trying to put him to bed early,” she says.
Steph regrets sending all four of her children to music lessons. Ouch.
It’s good to know that I’m not the only mother who is harboring deep (albeit ‘first world’) regret over a parenting decision.
At least we know that it’s just a phase. Pip’s kids will get bored of Frozen, Steph’s kids might form a band, and sooner or later my darling girl will grow out of the day-of-the-week undies.
Words: Cat Rodie
