I've given in. I have made tangible purchases that recognize that a) I will be spending the winter in this stupid cold and snowy city and b) we're staying with my mom at least until spring. What would a purchase have to do with accepting this, you ask? Good question.
While I wouldn't call myself a nudist, I'm pretty free with my body and comfortable with my own bareness. Over the years this has shown up in a number of ways, from naked sunbathing, getting barred from wearing dresses to preschool, running around backyards naked and just generally hanging around in the house unclothed. There are a lot of naked-Sheryl stories out there, but not in a dirty way. (Ok, some in a dirty way. Most are not though!) This surprises most people who know me from a school or work setting but I'm not too concerned. It's just a human body, everyone has one.
When we were in Toronto, the way to deal with winter and household nudity was to put on some slippers and wrap myself in a towel or Bunny's housecoat hanging open. Here that's not going to be working out so well. It's colder than Toronto, and my mom just does not want me walking around naked all the time. So accepting that I'm going to spend winter here really means that I need something to cover up around the house in the morning and just before bed.
Clearly it was time to get my hands on some pajamas. Or at least some pajama pants, since I do already own tank tops and t shirts. Luckily for me, Wal-mart sells cheap pajamas and my I had my latest bonus from work on a Wal-mart gift card. So on a recent weekend I indulged in a few fun pairs of pajama pants (somehow both pink, and I'm really not sure how that happened).
This is me. In my hot pink zebra striped fleece pants, ready for winter. It's strange that a little purchase like that makes me feel more settled, but it does. It's like a statement to myself: this is where I'm living, and this is what I need to be there. I may not love the living situation but I sure am ready for it.
This reminds me of when I first arrived in Switzerland... and my aunt was like " Amanda needs slippers, warm comfy slippers". At first I did not really get the urgency, but then I got it, it's something cultural and it's about being part of the household. In Mexico you would normally leave your shoes on and prance all around the house in them. In Europe it is more of a common thing (though it depends per family), to take your shoes off as soon as you go in the house and trade them for slippers.
ReplyDeletePink fleece pants sound super comfy.
You weren't allowed to wear dresses in kindergarden?
See, here in Canada most families I know subscribe to the no shoes in the house rule. But having a great pair of slippers is key for making it through a no shoe winter!
DeleteI was banned from wearing dresses in both preschool and kindergarten. Had something to do with their tendency to end up around my hips and my complete lack of modesty.