May 16 2006
They walk alike, they talk alike, at times they even dress alike?
The first time I ever heard of Patty Duke Syndrome (PDS) I was reading the Nancy Kennedy book, Help! I?m Being Intimidated by the Proverbs 31 Woman! She was recounting her brief stint with the syndrome that she defines as the point in a woman?s life when she becomes ?overwhelmed with the need to dress themselves and their female offspring in matching attire.?
I really don?t have any memories of PDS striking my family personally (oh wait?), even though I think I can recall seeing it hit other families at some time. Usually it strikes around a holiday (Easter or Christmas) when families are aglow with the spirit of the holiday and pretty clothing is a must for the family portrait that will be taken at some point during the merriment.
Nancy tells the story of her experience where she worked on her secret plan- taffeta dresses (complete with butt bows) for Mother?s Day. She and her daughters wore the dresses for about five minutes, exactly how long it took her to realize she caught the dreaded PDS and the cure was to tell her daughters to go pick out their own church outfits.
I laughed all through the chapter, thinking the idea of going overboard with the dressing a like was so silly and over the top that it would never hit me.
But never, in all my life, would I ever think that it would strike my husband.
Ever since Fuller was born and D started taking an interest in finding Fuller clothes in a cost range we were comfortable with, D added the nice little twist of trying to find our son clothing that matched what D currently had in his own wardrobe.
Damon has a red shirt, Fuller has a red shirt. Damon has blue shorts, Fuller has blue shorts. Fuller has a burnt orange polo shirt, Damon has a burnt orange polo shirt.
This past Election Day, Damon took Fuller to the polling place in our neighborhood. Josiah, the election officer for St. Elmo, took one look at the dynamic duo and said, ?I wish you could tell if the Crumleys were Auburn fans.” Damon has an Auburn shirt, Fuller has an Auburn shirt. Guess what they were wearing?
It really is sweet that D wants that kind of bond with our little boy. And since Fuller is a boy he won?t (hopefully) run into any over blown outfit concepts that require butt bows and taffeta. But then again? is it a good thing that Elvis didn?t have sons?
