When being a good mom means saying, "No"

I'm picking up the house this morning, when Ethan finds my purse:

He says, "Hey, I want to wear your purse!" and laughs. I try to rid myself of a rush of anxiety by offering up a quick prayer, "Lord, help me not to worry. I know he's just imitating what he sees", and take this as an opportunity for a life lesson: "OK, you can try my purse, but do boys wear purses, or just girls?" (yes, he knew the answer).

Then he straps it over his shoulder and exclaims, "Look! It's like a firefighter radio!"

Oh phew!...thank goodness it's a radio, and not a place to hold lipstick! He learned how firefighters strap a radio over their shoulder from a kids documentary about firefighters.l

Then comes the question of the day: "Can I wear this to the store?"

I look down at him, and he's looking quite.....less than masculine...unmanly....the opposite of boy. In a quick flash, I'm thinking about how we are not supposed to worry about what others think of our children when they are making independent choices (plaid with stripes, self-induced hair style with gel, etc...), but then again, what am I teaching my son about social boundaries? I would certainly know that my son was obviously carrying a firefighter radio and not a man bag, but everyone else would think, "That boy is....odd" (to say the least). And I could just imagine the whispering comments, the sly pointing, the downcast eyes... So, instead of instinctively yelling, "Yeah...NO!", I gently reply back to him, "Ummm, don't you think that one would be more fun to play with at home with all your other firefighter gear?" I'm glad it went over well. We had a great day, and now we are back home and he is one happy firefighter, radio and all...

It's a firefighter radio, folks. No need to stare.

What, your child doesn't have a Coach over-the-shoulder firefighter radio?