But it's not all puppy dogs, fuzzy kittens, rainbows and sugar coated warmth. There are some problems. I'm talking about clothes. It's expensive, especially if you start rifling through a size once a month.
My solution: The Salvation Army, Good Will and other second hand stores. I started out wearing loose fit 42's (pants), and had a lot of 'over-hang' there. It took a while to get out of those because they went from tight to properly fitting to a little loose. But once the flood gates were opened...
Now I'm wearing 34's and will probably end up wearing 32's when I'm all done. Since January I've had to purchase 40's, 38's, 36's and now of course 34's. Then there are shirts. No way could I afford to keep myself clothed if not for second hand stores. I teach math for a living, my health insurance costs 2/3's of my mortgage. I do not have extra money floating around.
Why not just wear the too big clothes? Because I felt better and wanted to look better too. And wearing those old clothes was just, well, not me anymore. They once looked good, but not anymore. And they were a shameful reminder of what used to be and something I'm determined to never let be again!
What's as surprising as finding out that I like a lot of foods without meat in them is that I don't really mind buying clothes at these thrift stores. A year ago there's no way I would've eaten beans and rice without meat. There's no way I would've eaten ONLY salad for dinner, much less both of those meals in the same day. And, there's no way I'd consider buying second hand clothes.
But, it's okay. Here's me in a second hand suit I wore for high school graduation. Who cares that this was given to me?
No comments:
Post a Comment