Recently I took my shy, 10-year-old grandson shopping for new clothes to wear to my youngest daughter’s engagement party. His mom was recovering from the birth of her third child, so it was great to have undivided time with him.

We perused the t-shirts, collared shirts, and shorts in the boy’s department. Suddenly, he ran ahead of me and plucked a hot pink shirt from the rack confidently stating, “I want this one Grandmother!”

I knew pink was one of his favorite colors and that he didn’t have anything pink in his wardrobe. I quickly grabbed a size 10 pair of khaki shorts and guided us toward the fitting room affirming his choice, “I love it, sweetie. Let’s go see it fits you.”

The moment he pulled the shirt over his head and trunk, I knew he was going to be a big hit at the party. This brilliant pink color brought out the splatter of freckles across his cheeks brightened his blue eyes and set off his strawberry blonde hair. The fit was perfect. We had a winner. It’s always a winner when you both agree!

As we walked through the exit on our way to the shoe store, ear-damaging alarms sounded. I turned on a dime and stepped back inside the store. We headed to the first counter I thought might have the thingamajig that removes those security thingamajiggers that mistakenly get left on purchases.

The sales associate at the counter pulled out the pink shirt, checked our receipt and found the thingamajig. It was the pink shirt that held the secret to what was causing the entire alarm ruckus. The sales associate looked at my grandson and asked, “Dude! Did you pick out this color?” He looked straight at him with a smile, and nodding his head his head replied, “Yes.” “Dude, this is a great color, one of the best! You did a great job!” I thanked him for taking care of us and we went on our way to the shoe store. As we left I watched as my ten-year-old grandson walked with a little more bounce, stood taller with more squared shoulders and was looking out in front of him instead of eyes downward.

We arrived at the shoe store, and he picked out the shoes he wanted. He showed his pink shirt and shorts to the woman helping him with his fitting. Before he could pull it all the way out of the bag, she exclaimed, “WOW! Did you pick out that shirt? I love that color! You have a good eye for selecting clothes!” He sat there with a flushed pink face, nearly the color of the pink shirt, and smiling at her said, “Thank you!”

The Pink Shirt

When it came time for the party, he was beating down the door to get a shower. He wanted to put on his new shirt. The shorts and shoes were great compliments to his outfit, but the pink shirt was the one thing that created something I have never seen before in my grandson.

There were many guests at the party we did not yet know. I planned ahead of time to be on the lookout for my grandson. I didn’t want his shyness to keep him from enjoying the night. Much to my surprise, he stood by me for all of five minutes. Then, he was on his own, drawn by the food table, visiting with others and making conversation with the older guys.

My grandson engaged in conversation with new people. They asked him questions and listened carefully to his answers. In exchange, he asked questions of them and they listened. He ate, laughed and enjoyed his night.

The pink shirt experience was transformational for my grandson. He became a social butterfly. By being affirmed in his choice, he wore a new attitude beneath the pink shirt. It looked great on him!

The pink shirt experience changed my grandson’s life. When I told this story to his momma, her immediate reply was, “We are going shopping! We are going to buy more pink shirts!” It’s a good thing because his one pink shirt is already faded out from being washed so much. He wears it nearly every day!

Sometimes all a shy child needs is someone telling him he’s good at something or affirming a positive choice he’s made.

Photo Credits:

Pink Shirts by Jason Leung on Unsplash