#SquadGoals: How Teamwork Starts With Selecting The Right Underwear

Scene: Stupid early in the morning. I walk into my kids’ room as if I’m going to wake them up, knowing full well they been up for an hour, stage whispering to each other, climbing the furniture, and antagonizing each other. After good mornings, hugs and kisses, and taking care of basic bodily functions, one of the wee ones asks:

what are we wearing today?

The thing about this question is that I don’t have hot sauce in my bag. I just don’t. What I do have: an extra pair of underwear (or 4), baby wipes, hair ties (in an assortment of colors), band aids, a multitool, and at least 3 varieties of snacks.

That said, me and mine get in formation every morning. This question, “what are we wearing today?,” is equal parts about underwear and unity.

We’re like most families in that we spend our days apart by necessity; I head to work and the wee ones head to school. I’m kind of a workaholic so maintaining a feeling of connection throughout the day with kids too young to text/email/chat is a challenge and that’s how the whole thing started: we match.

Each of us has a full collection of superhero underwear.

By that I mean, everyday we suit up. It’s a process we take seriously.

We go out to meet the world knowing that we are part of a team. And since we are all going out into the wonderland of microaggressions where I earn a paycheck and they learn to read, it’s helpful to be able to ask: What Would Wonder Woman Do?

When you know your alphabet, but can’t reach the toothpaste, one of your partners-in-crime can step in and show you how to move the stool closer to the counter. And, if we’re having a particularly good day, hold your hand while you ascend. Like the TMNT help each other. Like the Avengers help each other. Like we help each other.

And if I have to go into a meeting knowing I’m going to be outnumbered, it helps if I start my day feeling like this just by putting my underwear on.

So while eliminating one of these tricks kids isn’t an option, feeling like a team everyday is. It’s a choice we make together that sustains us through the day until we can make it back to the relative safety of our lair, to our team.

Are you following Black Nerd Problems on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Google+?