Hand Me Ups............

When I was young I wasn't one of those who had to "suffer" through wearing hand-me-downs. It had a lot to do with the fact that my sisters were SO MUCH OLDER than I was. (I could have resisted that cheap shot, but I chose not to. Sorry, sisters!) It had even more to do with the fact that one of them was tall and thin, and the other one was short and REALLY thin. (And I still love both of them. Imagine that.)

There was one exception, which has almost nothing to do with this blog post. When I became a cheerleader in the eighth grade, I dug out some old saddle shoes that Katydid wore when SHE was a cheerleader. They had cost Mom a fortune, but I guess in the end it was worth it, since we were cheerleaders about eight years apart and we both wore them. The "saddle" part of the shoes had been dyed blue, because our school colors were blue and white. Man, I wish I still had those shoes. I would so wear them to school now.

Having a daughter, however, has provided me with the opportunity to have hand-me-ups. I have inherited several articles of clothing after she stopped wearing them for one reason or another.

This is one of three pairs of jeans I acquired that way.

Sweet Girl shops almost exclusively at one of those hip teen-type mall stores. I'm afraid to go in there because not only am I too old for most of the clothes, the music drives me crazy.

I love the jeans, though. It may be because by the time I get them, they are broken in very well and they have the genuine faded look, not the one that some jeans pretend to have when you buy them brand new. They are soft and comfortable, and they make me think (briefly) that I COULD wear clothes meant for this younger generation if I were so inclined. I have one pair that I leave in the RV for weekend trips. They have a hole high up on the inside part of the thigh, so they aren't decent for wearing to school anymore. It's a very small hole, so they are fine for camping or for wearing around home, but I wouldn't want to wear them to school.

Sweet Girl has even given me a pair of jeans the next size DOWN for when I get there. I love her faith in me (among many other things).

I can see Sweet Girl rolling her eyes from 350 miles away when she sees the picture below.

I don't remember her buying this shirt, but it had to be when she was in the 8th or 9th grade. By the end of her 9th grade year, she was already over it. In fact, I had to go to an administrator and have him open her locker when school ended so I could retrieve this shirt.

I love the shirt because it's flannel, so it's very warm. It also zips up, which is a whole lot less aggravating than buttons. I usually wear it as a light jacket. It must remind me of a lumberjack, because back when Hubby and I used to go get our own firewood, I would wear this shirt. (Not that we chopped it or anything, but still. Now we have it delivered.) The shirt is very loose and comfortable, and it's soft and has that "used" feeling also. It SHOULD have that used feeling, since it's at least 10 years old.

I don't think Sweet Girl GAVE me the shoes below so much as she left them behind back when she used to come home for the weekend. (**Sniff, sniff**) They are genuine Navy-issue steel-toed boots that she had to wear on the flight deck, and I guess the flight line too when they are not at sea.

I haven't ever worn these boots, and I'm not sure why. There were a couple of occasions when I intended to send them to goodwill with my other clothing donations, but I never could bring myself to do it. For one thing, I was afraid they had some sort of secret military microchip and the Navy would come get me for discarding something they had paid for. Call me paranoid. I was also hesitant to get rid of them because they belonged to Sweet Girl. Call me sentimental.

I THINK she gave them to me because I needed some sturdy boots when I took my motorcycle safety course. I was afraid they wouldn't allow me to shift gears effectively, though, because the steel toe makes them so thick. I have allowed them to languish in my closet, and I had the idea that they were too small for me. I tried them on when I got them out for this post, though, and they fit perfectly. I will wear them the next time the weather is warm enough for me to ride the Harley.

It may seem silly, but I feel closer to my daughter when I wear these things. (And I hope by saying that I haven't guaranteed that she will NEVER give me another piece of hand-me-up clothing.) Keep 'em coming, Sweet Girl!

Unfortunately, while digging through my closet looking for the boots, I was faced with the grim reality of a sad necessity - The Great Shoe Purge. Sorry, Maggie! That will be a blog post sometime in the next few days.