Post Pandemic School clothes?

     

When the pandemic began and I realized that no one would be able to see me in any great detail, I sorted out my school clothes from my just plain old clothes and put the decent ones away. Given my tendency to wander into the back yard to check on the broccoli—a very common activity in April—and then falling to my knees to trim out a bed and becoming covered in dirt and grass stains, then retreating to cook dinner and splashing olive oil on my shirt, it seemed prudent.  I am very hard on my clothes. I was also interested in seeing just how long seven pairs of old socks and three pairs of very old jeans would last, after being used every day.

The socks have worn out. There is a great deal of wear left in a sock once the comfy cushion has been washed away, but, finally, real holes appeared. Last month, I pulled down my sock bag and greeted a few “new” pairs for the drawer. It was nice to see old friends. My tee shirts are still sticking around, unchanged. My jeans are almost dead,  with very thin places in the seat, but comfortable.

As school opens up again, this is creating a problem. For the last year, I have been rolling out of bed, pulling on my old pants and a long sleeved shirt, and heading off into the day, comfy and covered, if not stylish and pristine. On Spartan Garden days in the fall, I wore my very baggy, poorly hemmed garden pants to school and no one knew. My shoes were muddy and battered. My jeans were patched. No one cared. I am spoiled.

Last week, I peered into my closet. There was my collection of skirts that I have added onto for many years. The black skirt from my second year of teaching….the swirling orange skirt that I bought to take to a Shakespeare workshop in Ashland…the short flowered one I found on Hawthorne for 21 dollars in September… old friends? I sighed. I don’t want to renew my acquaintance with them. When I complained to Mark, he asked “do you plan on having a bonfire?”  I don’t know. I believe in wearing things out, not throwing them out. But here I am-- wanting to stick with the garden pants and facing the reality of skirts, tights, leather shoes, and clean hair. Over time, I’ll adjust…but maybe I will start in September.