Ephemeral Gym Suit

So there was this discussion on FaceBook about gym uniforms. The way I understand it, this is a thing of the past, no one has gym uniforms any more. And then I saw another discussion about gym uniforms. And some very pretty pictures of those horrendously ugly things we had to wear . 

I didn't have to remember. I knew exactly what mine looked like. I don't have to remember every frickin' inch of embroidering my last name on the pocket. I don't have to remember my mother swearing she shoulda married someone name Jones. You see, I still have mine; ironed and ready to go. 

There it is. In all it's faded glory. You try embroidering 12 letters on a pocket with height requirements. 

Three years ago while I was getting ready to sell the house, I went through all those memory shoe boxes I had gathered over the years and ruthlessly got rid of stuff. Not all stuff, just a lot of it. This past week, I returned a high school band letter to the friend that gave it to me as a memento. That letter saw me through a bunch of questionable times. I could not throw it away, and I could not come up with a reason to keep it, so into an envelope it went and off to Brooklyn. There are other things, too, that I've been returning to people. It's a process, but a good one. I highly recommend it. 

I think I was channeling the tidy lady who is sweeping the country right now....pun intended. It was time to downsize literally and figuratively. I needed to let go of some things. Oddly, other things I found I could not just toss.

The gym suit was one of those things. 

I hated gym. I hated the locker room, I hated the teachers, I hated being short, and I hated my knees. But there was something sinister and ephemeral about that gym suit. I think it haunted me more than anything, but at the same time it was a symbol of perseverance. If Miss McCoy didn't kill me, nothing would.

That gym suit is really tiny. Was I ever that tiny? Must've been....but that I don't remember. 

Cleaning out the crap is not a bad idea. All kidding aside, I did that before I moved into this place. I was a little too efficient....I ended up having to replace a lotta pyrex I thought I didn't need. Guess again.

But there is something freeing about getting rid of stuff. I'm still working on this concept. There's still stuff I wanna jettison... 

There's a real good chance I will skip next Monday night, so if I'm MIA, don't worry. I'll be back.