Uniform(ity) Conformity?

I spent a good while tonight washing, sorting and having the kids (well, the girls anyway) try on their school uniforms trying to get ready for the big "First Day" next Monday. Once upon a time, I was a strong supporter of the uniform plan. I loved the thought of "equal footing" for all students. No brand name envy. No last-minute early-morning wardrobe battles. No-brainer. Right? Well........ not so fast. Apparently there is now a caste system of sorts for uniforms. A friend of mine was telling me this week that her daughter (a first-grader at the time) begged her not to buy more than one uniform for her until she could get to school and find out what brand the "cool" kids were wearing. I kept expecting my friend to laugh, but unfortunately she was totally serious. Give me a break. Like it really makes a difference where you buy your khaki, navy and white? Like there's not enough peer pressure about every other flippin' thing in the school? I'm just thankful that my kids seem to have a healthy sense of who they are despite the fact that ALL of their clothes, not just their school uniforms, come from Wal-mart, Target, eBay, and/or consignment sales. (Oh and I forgot, hand-me-downs from siblings and good friends!) Sure, we may stumble across an occasional "can't-beat-it-with-a-stick" clearance sale at a name-brand or department store, but those are definitely more the exception than the norm. Call us crazy, but Lee and I shop the same way. Can't say that it was always that way, but we're doing our best to lead by example now that we have these four "we-want-to-be-just-like-you" blessings watching our every move. We so want them to hold onto the knowledge that their identity is ONLY found in Who they belong to......... not what they do, not what friends they have, and certainly not the label in their clothes. I can always use a fresh reminder of that, too!