I wore a new shirt today: a bright Persian-blue Hanes-style, round-collared, asexual large, without darts to emphasize any curves or with much shape at all, actually. It dawned on me this morning as I was putting it on with my really cute boyfriend CAbi jeans and Old Navy flip flops (it was a lovely 78° San Diego October day) that this is my first new item of clothing since starting TGAAD. When pulling my outfit together, I fretted over the shapelessness of the t-shirt. I worried about the fact that this round collar so does NOT work on me. I wasn’t at all pleased with what I saw reflected in the mirror.
And then I got over myself; focusing instead on the words imprinted on my t-shirt: “God’s Work Our Hands.” You see, it was a t-shirt from my church—a uniform of sorts for the almost 200 congregational members participating in a weekend of community service. Service projects that included yard work in the San Dieguito River Park and in a local senior residential community; re-stocking and organizing a local high school library; preparing almost 500 sack lunches for a local homeless shelter and a meal for the Ronald McDonald house; following the direction of music therapists to bring music and human interaction at an assisted living facility; and spending time with residents of a local mental health care facility.
This shapeless t-shirt took on new meaning for me. I felt proud to be wearing this shirt. It made me stop and reflect on how fortunate I am that TGAAD is something I have the luxury to explore, and still have plenty to wear. But ultimately, how blessed I am to have participated in today’s service projects, offering my time and talents instead of a donation. For me—for today—it truly was better to give than to have received. And, my new blue shirt remains as a reminder.
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Kerrie, what an awesome post… nicely played. Would love to see a photo of your whole gang in your T-shirts. And great reminder that participating in this is a true luxury–a good exercise for us, for sure, but a reminder how blessed we really are.