May 17
Next week I will officially be on the back side of my forties—to clarify, 47 years old. I remember when my mother turned 47. I was 22 years old and my mom, while she had a hip perm and wore skin tight black Calvin Klein jeans, seemed old-ish. My son at eight gets mad when I say “I’m old.” He continually tells me, “you don’t look old,” I guess it’s all relative (either that or my torn jeans and hoodie are doing the job of making me look youngish).
Forty-seven is not fifty but it’s getting pretty darn close. One of the many downsides of being on the backside of my forth decade is the much discussed yet barely understood stage called peri-menopause. I am finding that the topic, not unlike pregnancy, is shrouded in lies, (since when was pregnancy 9 months?). Yeah, sure I knew that “peri” means before but no one told me that it was the “peri” that caused all the problems, not the menopause. When you hit menopause its over, done, kapoot! But peri? That’s where it all happens—the long, slow, tortuous journey rife with an ocean of sweat, painful periods, a body that’s itching to get fat and an ever-present “fuck you” attitude.
I think they (those people in charge of medical words) should rebrand the whole term. Here’s some ideas: The Slow March, The Witching Hour or better yet…Adolescence—The Sequel.
So what does all this have to do with TGAAD? Lots. And that’s where my story begins.
Last week I bought two new sets of pajamas. There it is, that is my cheat. For several months now I have been having night sweats that have me wishing I had more bedtime bathing suits. I have found myself waking up in a Tempur-Pedic® swamp several times a night. On many occasions I am so drenched in sweat that the only solution is to take off my soaked pjs, put on a dry pair and crawl back into my clammy bed. Needless to say I need a few more change of bed clothes to get me through this stage.
If this is not justification for cheating I don’t know what is!
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Tagged with: clothes, Consumerism, Hatley, menopause, motherhood, Pajamas, perimenopause, shopping, The Great American Apparel Diet
Dec 28
You all may consider calling the authorities and having me taken away in a paddy wagon. So here’s my true confession. I’ve found not shopping for clothes to be incredibly easy–partly because I honestly have no discretionary income any more, but mostly because I really did turn a switch in my brain. It’s just not something I really think about any more. (This may change come spring, when the juices flow and the clothes are adorable.)
I’m so much in New Depression mode, in fact, that I did something recently I still can’t quite believe. I have a new roommate (whose name I shan’t drag into this sorry story), and she’s been a delight to have in the house. The other morning, I was making the rounds of all the garbage cans, and went to empty the large-ish one in the laundry room. In it, there were some…clothes.
They were some kind of soft black knit, two pieces, with lots of lint etc stuck to them. But I quickly realized they were a top and bottom to some very cute pajamas–sleeveless top with ruched rows of stitching across the top, and the same rows of stitching across the hips of the bottoms, which end in wide flowy billows. Cute! I couldn’t figure out why she tossed them, except there was a small hole along one of the stitched rows of the waistband–or maybe it’s because they were a bit too big for her, who knows?
All I know is, my first thought was: “These are still good!” I washed and dried them, and slipped them up to my room, where I put them on and thought how very loungey and Joan Collinsy I looked (in a good way). Free pajamas! (the good news) Which I fished out of the garbage! (not sure if that’s good news or not)
Anyway, Roomie does not know I salvaged/recycled her former jammies but they are comfy and I’ve worn them several times. It might be a little hard to explain when I do run into her while wearing them.
My question to you all–and please be honest–is, Have I taken this a little too far?
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Tagged with: Pajamas, recycled clothing, used clothing
Oct 30
It’s just about the end of week one of this “unemployment” business. I can tell the days are just going to blend together and that there is no such thing as “hump day” in my new world. Even my young son said to me on Monday morning as I was dropping him off at school, “Mommy – we don’t have to rush out of the car”. Right. My sentiment exactly. Mommy doesn’t have a job! Of course I silently replied to him, as I am quite sure that he has not mentally registered that Mommy seems to be around the house MUCH more now. Or that Mommy seems to be wearing her pajamas all day.
Which gets me to the point about our apparel diet? Are we allowed to purchase new pj’s? Is this part of the “new underwear” clause? If underwear is an approved purchase over this year long haul, are night-night clothes okay too? Of course if this is allowed, I will be sure to head straight to TARGET and avoid J.Crew at all costs.
TARGET – Affordable and fashionable. And at this point, the former descriptive is all I care about.
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Tagged with: J. Crew, Pajamas, Target, unemployed
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