Saturday, May 26, 2007

A Long Story About Sweatpants

Tonight Curtis headed out the front door with a half-filled garbage sack that screamed investigate me! After I asked what is was, he said it was just some clothes he needed to give away. Curt has a habit of getting rid of some of his most stylish clothes, particularly clothes that I have bought for him. I think sometimes he just doesn't have the courage to reach his style potential. For example, two years ago I bought him the sickest Caffeine track jacket in NYC. (Did I pull "sickest" off, y'all? Because I've been hearing it a lot but haven't felt edgy enough to say it.) I had to coerce him into ever wearing it and when it finally debuted at a party, people were blown away by his style. They said things like, "Only Curt could pull that off," and, "Man, where did you get that awesome jacket?" I was very pleased and thought he would learn to trust me. Sometimes I know what I'm talking about! Don't hate me, but I was not about to see that crazy track jacket go in the bin outside Walmart tonight.

Most of the items got my approval for donation. One nice button-down shirt I got him for our first married Christmas didn't make it. I have a hard time saying goodbye to sentimental things. Another item, which should never have been in the bag because no one on earth would want it, was a pair of sweatpants.

These were your run-of-the-mill, black, fluffy cotton, elastic at the ankle, classic sweatpants. There's no telling how old they are, but they were suitable for Curt's softball games. At some point he cut off the elastic at the ankles. Then he cut out the bulky pockets because they were adding about six inches to his hips. Then they acquired major paint stains when we decided to renovate our house when I was in my third trimester of pregnancy. Fun! Even though I should never have been painting, I painted. In fact, Janelle and I sat side by side on the floor and painted my kitchen cabinet doors in what is now the nursery. If our children have behavioral disorders we'll know why. In all the painting I needed some clothes to mess up. Large clothes to mess up.

So Curt gave me these sweatpants for painting in. Mind you, Curt's legs are four inches shorter than mine. He is one inch taller than me, but we obviously have some weird proportional differences. When we were newly married and I would pull his jeans out of the dryer, I would gasp in horror thinking I had shrunken my gloriously long jeans. I know better now. But seriously, don't mess with a woman's jeans.

Back to the black sweatpants. We spent so many late nights in this house, priming and painting. It could get very cold in here, so I always wore the sweatpants. Please picture this with me. A 5 foot 8 blond woman with shiny, thick pregnancy hair (I'm sorry, I can't let it go), in some huge grungy t-shirt with a sizable tummy (8 months), in black sweatpants stained with white paint, and four inches of bright white ankles between her tennis shoes and the sweatpants. Oh, and the stubs of the cutout pockets were often sticking out to the side. I had never been more lovely.

These pants should have only one destination - the trash can. But I'm not ready to let them go yet. They remind me of the excitement of moving in to our first house, getting ready for the arrival our first child, and spending countless hours working side by side on a renovation project that nearly sent us into counseling. If you're looking to test yourself in the area of submission, renovation is the way to do it. I thought I did pretty well, but since I can't even submit to my husband's choices for giving away his clothes, maybe I still have some issues.

26 comments:

a boy a girl and a pug said...

you keep those pants...i have lots of senitmental clothing items too that just can't be parted with. but boy, i'm impressed your hubby went through the closet without your help...my hubby runs and hide when i mention clearing out the closet a little bit.

MamaCass said...

Have honestly never heard the phrase "sickest". You pulled it off well though. Love reading your stories. They get me to thinking. I had a pair of jeans that made it to every mission trip in high school and college. They were frayed, and ripped, paint splattered, and dingy. But they were with me through many great memories. Sadly, I through them away for two reasons. They had a hole in the rear that no patch could ever cover up and two they so do not fit anymore.

olivia and henry said...

you are SO FUNNY!!! i think these black pants should stick around...throw them in your maternity drawer, for next time ;)

Sharon Brumfield said...

We eloped and got married in Virginia--- Keith came to pick me up from a nanny job.
We bought a pair of sweatpants while there. Neither of us can fit into these pants--but they are a memory. I am not by nature a pack rat-- but these will stay.
You keep those pants--they are a memory.

Anonymous said...

I have no problem throwing out clothing, whether mine, my hubby's or the kids', but I get very attached to certain pieces of clothing, so I completely understand the sweatpants issue. I actually kept 2 of my hubby's Banana Republic t-shirts until they were literally in shreds--SHREDS--because my hubby wore them back when we first started dating at A&M (he's class of '92; I'm class of '94). By the way, we started dating at the end of the fall semester my FRESHMAN year, so I say that's a big compliment to Banana Republic for making such high quality clothing.

And I feel your pain about the clothing you've gifted to your hubby. My hubby has gorgeous skin that gets dark the first 5 minutes he's out in the sun, has extremely dark brown hair (now with gray at the temples) and dark brown eyes, and so I am FOREVER wanting the man to wear a dark red shirt. But he refuses. So after keeping them a year, he gives them away. But me? I've got every item of clothing the man ever gave me, including a multicolored leather coat from Express that he gave me my junior year at A&M and a beautiful size 4 olive green silk dress from Banana Republic he gave to me our first year of marriage that I KNOW my body will never fit into again after having all of these babies.

Had he given me an old pair of grungy sweatpants of his, however, I'd still be wearing them today. (currently 5 months pregnant with #4) KEEP 'EM.

AbbyLane said...

I'm the same way with certain objects. I still have the piece of paper that my best friend wrote her lunch order on the first time I brought her food at school. (little strange?!) It has her name at the top, and everything I got her from subway. That was our first lunch date over 5 years ago and I owe some of the best memories of my life to the frienship that was started with that piece of stationary!! :)
Throwing it away is just not an option. :)

Michael & Amy Miller said...

Amanda,

Thanks for visiting our little blog (although I enjoy yours 100x more than ours!!!) and saying hi! I can't believe you're in Irving - I wish I had known that before we moved away from TX! :( We were at Irving Bible before we left. BTW, I have a good friend who uses "sick" all the time and I def. think you're in the zone. AND, my Anna LOVES Wonder Pets too. She has assigned every member of our family a WP identity...and I'm "always Lenny". Is it OK if I link to you off our blog? I know people would so love it.

Love,
Amy Miller

Anonymous said...

"But seriously, don't mess with a woman's jeans." Here here, sista!

I think we all have those articles of clothing we are sentimental about! Me, I'm get misty-eyed just thinking about when I was size 8, so I hold on to those... :-)

Jackie said...

i totally understand.... i have a pair of shorts that a roommate in college let me borrow (i still have them, so the borrowing part went out the window) they have paint on them from sara's nursery... and are HUGE on me..but i fold down the waist and still wear them around the house..stains and all..they remind me of college, of being pregnant and painting her nursery..and of so many other memories. i can't let them go.. maybe i should turn them into a quilt or something?? hahaha-not really, but i am also sentimental and can't let go of certain things....hold on to them sista' we understand!!!

jen said...

I too have items I can't bring myself to throw out because they hold such great memories. Even though getting rid of the pants won't get rid of the memeory, it's still good to have something to hold on to to remind us of sweet times. And which of us doesn't have a "ratty" pair of comfy sweats we wouldn't DARE part with?? I've got me some "scrapbooking" pants that would put those paint stains to shame....

Janelle and Ella said...

Okay, I love the reminder of that fun memory!! Pretty much everytime I am in your house I picture Heath painting the red wall in your dining room and us in the nursery with our big pregnant bellies painting away with, but mostly without, the masks Curtis bought for us!! Precious memories! I wouldn't be able to throw those pants out either. In fact, I still own the gray cotton pants I was wearing that day. I think I even wore them in the hospital after Ella was born with the white paint stains because they are SO comfortable.

Jenna said...

Hi Amanda! I have been reading your blog for a little while now, and just wanted to say hello :) I had to priveledge of reading some of your older blogs tonite and just thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Hope you are having a great night :)

Shelly said...

Confession: I actually still own (and wear) t-shirts from my 8th grade year of middle school. Yes, this was 11 years ago; I suppose my inability to get rid of them could point to my lack of fondness for change, but can a girl really have too many t-shirts!??

Keep the sweatpants girlfriend. And 'don't mess with a woman's jeans!' (Big nod!)

debra parker said...

I think I need to see a picture...:).

AKat said...

I have a Carson-Newman t-shirt from 1997. I haven't thrown it out because I want to have an article of clothing that rolls over the ten year mark. It was once white. No amount of Clorox gets it back now. This was a great post. I enjoyed reading it.

Lisa @ The Preacher's Wife said...

I totally get you on this one Amanda..

I had a pair of Nike hiking boots I bought while pregnant with my oldest (12 years ago). I wore them alot while pregant because they were sooo comfortable. As the years passed, they were hopelessly out of style but I still wore them anytime I needed some rugged footweart. They were also paint-spattered..

I wore them on a hike just a few days ago and looked at the soles because they just felt funny...Apparently the rubber on the bottom dry-rotted and literally was crumbling off into the floor. I was devastated!

I almost took their picture, but my husband is still shaking his head over my dumping the junk out of my purse and taking pics for that 'What's in your Bag' tag a while back. I figure he'll think I really lost it if I blawg about the shoes..:)

So for the greater good of my not getting my computer taken away AND being able to continue raising my children unsupervised, I unceremoniously threw them away...I'm still sad about it. :(

You keep your pants until they dry rot honey!

Lisa

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who finds sentiment in the strangest things -- even black sweatpants! :)

Blessings,
Dori

P.S. Thanks for posting the Travis tribute on the LPM blog. I have known Travis going on about 17 years and Angela about 20 and it was soooo sweet!

Kari said...

Oh Amanda...too funny! Seriously, when are you coming to Springfield, MO?

Michelle said...

Yes, keep the sweats! Good call on that one. Hang in there with the clothing thing with your hubs. For me I learned not to buy hy man anything- our styles for each other are "off"- we don't buy one another clothes, it's a little agrement we have *smile* but the sweatpants, the story touched my heart.

Holly said...

Chris does the same thing...he likes his comfy clothes and if they cost more than say $15 he has trouble wearing them.

I painted, too, while we renovated. Everyone seems fine so far :) I'm also sentimentakl about those painting clothes...they are a representation of many, many hours of work (and DC talk hee hee!).

Have a great week!
Love in Him,
Holly

Margo said...

You are soooo much kinder than me. Y has a habit of becoming incredibly close to a (always random) item of clothing for long periods of time. I've had my mother "lose" a blue, button-down gas station shirt when visiting home, a floppy har that "flew" out a car window, and I may have accidentally "buried" a more recent Hawaaiin, Old Jewish Man in Miami atrocity.
It's entirely possible we shared some precious moments with him in those pieces of clothing, but I get a lot less sentimental after the six month straight.
I'm ALL FOR helping the boys along with getting dressed!

Julie said...

I totally understand. I have attachments to close too! I see nothing wrong with it.

Have a great week!
Julie

Nancy Mon said...

I have a gray sweatshirt (Hans and Franz styling) that has seen better days. It began as Roy's and somehow it became more mine. I love it and all the stains and paint spots are cherished memories for me. Every fall, all three days of it here in Houston, I pull it out to wear. I am dreading the day it is totally thread bare and past wearing. I have seen where you can take favorite t shirts and have a quilt made from them. Maybe I can just have a doily (sp) made from it. Enjoyed this story and I too agree we need a pic.

Kelli said...

Keep those pants!! I have a drawer of various shirts and pj pants from elementary school to college years that hold special memories. I really want to make a quilt, but have run into a problem - that would mean that I would need to learn how to sew.... :) Regardless, they hold special memories!

jennyhope said...

You seriously crack me up! You have your mother's wit all the way!
I liked how you pulled of "Sickest" just don't start with the "wicked"!
Girl the last thing I had to throw out of my mans was the "Your girlfriend wants me" shirt! He even cut off the sleeves and wore that bad boy in the yard! I have to sneak out his clothes without him knowing. I am the one in need of submission lessons!! On another note my hair has never been the same after pregnancy. I went to the beauty supply house last night to try to find anything to condition this hair. Finally I landed on the aisle with the shampoo/conditioner for women of color. I politely asked the lady if "white women" could use it...she said I could (I think she needed the sale) so I made my purchase and left. It seems to be doing the job after only two washes! Praise Him!

FitzandMolly said...

Moone, I love you dearly, but please don't ever say "sickest" again. It's too weird.