"Oh, It must be Pajama Day Today."

I don't know where your memory and involvement of the elementary school life starts or if you are still frequenting it's halls, decades later because of the grand kids. If you have or have not been in a pre-Kindergarten to fourth grade building recently...some things remain the same, like having fun while we learn.

Elementary teachers and staff are willing to live outside the box for the pure joy of watching their students participate in life, take risks, and succeed. Don't get me wrong, higher level teachers do the same thing but the manner in which they achieve these goals looks differently.

Did I mention it was "pajama day" at school? In case you don't know what this means, it means children and staff are encouraged to wear their jammies to school. These spirit type of days are right up my alley - so much fun! 

My greatest stressor and joy for this type of day, "school appropriate pajamas". I typically sleep in old sweats and an oversized sweatshirt and I'm not wearing that to school. If we can afford it, I'll head to the store for inexpensive fleece bottoms to match a t-shirt I already own. 

But with no extra cash in the house, or the need for a pair of pajamas I wouldn't wear, I found last year's Christmas bottoms. Grabbed a black top and bathrobe. I borrowed a stuffed animal from Mags, put my hair up in crazy pig tails, and packed my "elf" slippers. I was ready for school.

Fast forward to the afternoon: I'm old enough not to worry about what others might think yet smart enough to understand why my teen wasn't excited to walk around the grocery store with me. I bribed her, as any decent parent will, "If you come in with me, you can take my picture and use at your leisure AND you can pick a treat." (she chose chocolate milk, lol)

Can you tell by looking at my pictures what the answer was? Life is too short not to have fun...

Not only did today's "Pajama Day" raise awareness about Down Syndrome, it brought a smile to the face of many.

In addition to dropping my daughter off this morning, I returned a library book , and picked up odds and ends for supper tonight. And yes, I did all this wearing my jammies, a bathrobe, and pig tails on top of my head.

We could of eaten cereal for supper but then I would have missed the opportunity to bring a smile to people's faces. A gentleman at the library said, "Must be pajama day today?" and smiled. At the grocery store, one family burst out laughing, another, while waiting at the deli said, "I love pajama day. My son was so excited today. You look great." One woman said, "You just look fun." 

What was, or is, your favorite themed day at school? Why?