Angoraphobia

If you know me at all, then you know that I like clothes that are comfortable and soft and easy. I've always been this way. I don't think I wore jeans all throughout middle school because I found them too uncomfortable. If memory serves, I wore leggings instead, which is just one of the many reasons why I was never terribly popular. (The skipping instead of walking was probably another big reason.) Being a stay-at-home mom has not helped me in this sense at all. There are times when I seriously wonder why anyone bothers with jeans at all when there are such great pajama pants in stores. Really, I'm just a t-shirt and flip-flops kind of girl.

This manner of dressing is problematic in the winter. It took Craig pointing out to me that the reason I was so cold all the time was because my definition of "dressing warmly" was to put a large coat on over my t-shirt. If it was snowing, I'd add a scarf. "You know, most people would wear a sweater also," he said. But I hate sweaters. They're itchy and they make my hair get so full of static that it sticks to my face. I remember talking to Utah girls at BYU who would gush that they loved winter because they had so many cute sweaters to wear and I would just look at them with blank incomprehension. How could a sweater be cute?

I finally found out.

It only happened because a friend of mine gave me no less than 8 garbage bags full of clothes. And that included a lot of sweaters. I vowed that I would try on each article of clothing before deciding whether or not I liked it, since sometimes things can surprise you once you're wearing them. (I learned that lesson wedding-dress shopping and it was a Utah girl who explained it to me. She was right-- the dress I bought hadn't even appealed that much on the hanger, but once I had it on, I fell in love with it. Thanks again for that, Laresa!) It took me two months to find the energy to try on that much clothing, but eventually I got through it all, and when I was done, I had enough new clothes that it will still be a long time before I do any shopping for myself. (Hallelujah!) And, surprisingly enough, a lot of the clothes I liked were indeed sweaters. I have about ten now that I wear on a surprisingly regular basis (and they do keep me from getting quite so cold-- wonder of wonders!), and most of them aren't itchy at all. (Two of them are itchy, but are cute enough to make it worth it, at least for an hour or two.)

This got me wondering why in the world I'd never been able to find sweaters that I liked before? Was this friend just an amazing shopper that she could find the best sweaters? Where were these wonderfully useful and practical and cute sweaters hiding?

I finally realized that the problem was me. Set me loose in a department store, and I will walk away with some of the cutest t-shirts and pajama pants imaginable. If I really need a particular article of clothing-- say, a skirt-- I might find one of those, too. Even if you tell me to buy something warm, I'll probably just invest in another coat. I won't even see the sweaters, let alone bother trying them on. I know that they're not "me" even before I've come near them. It's the t-shirts that call to me.

But now I know that some sweaters are, apparently, "me." I really like some of them, and I suspect that they like me, too. (I also suspect that my next shopping trip will be taking me a whole lot longer, but I'll deal with that when the time comes.)

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.