Hand-me-down recipients understand luxury of buying new blue jeansI bought Carson brand-new blue jeans last weekend, and the brief shopping trip turned out to be a landmark event in his young life.We found a couple of different styles and shades of blue "carpenter" jeans, as he calls them (the kind with deep pockets and a loop on the side to hold a hammer).His big brother, 10-year-old Jonathan, accompanied him (no girls allowed in the men’s dressing room) and offered expert advice.The look on Carson’s face when he emerged from the dressing room was priceless."Mom, these are the coolest jeans ever!" he said beaming and prancing around. "The kids at school are going to think they’re very cool."While he carried on with his dramatic effects, it occurred to me that Carson, now 4 1/2, had never worn brand-new blue jeans.With a big brother, older cousins and generous friends, he’s always had an ample supply of quality hand-me-down jeans.He’d had some like-new rummage sale finds from his grandmas, and he’s had brand new "church pants," as he calls khaki slacks, but never new blue jeans, and certainly never a pair he’d had any part in choosing.Even if he had needed new jeans prior to last week, most mothers know it’s quicker and easier to buy children’s clothes absent the children.But Carson’s rugged play eventually caught up with the worn-thin knees in his hand-me-down jeans and I was getting embarrassed by the bare knees that he insisted were "cool."So, we decided to make a field trip out of the shopping experience to find him jeans to cover his knees.I, of all people, should understand the significance of new clothes and being able to pick them out. Growing up in a family of five girls with older cousins to boot, I wore my share of hand-me-downs and haven’t forgotten the delicious chemical smell of new fabric and the luxury of being the first to break them in.Yes, Sunday was a big day for Carson, but it took some convincing from his mother and big brother that his friends at preschool were not going to think it’s "cool" if he kept the stickers and tags on his new jeans.