8th Jewel

One of my goals with my clothing is to reduce the amount of clothes that I have by 1/3rd. this weekend I am swapping out summer clothes for winter ones (I really should only have a single wardrobe, since GA has a temperate climate), and I did not need to forcibly close the trunk. Actually there is room in the said trunk. Amazing. I have not had room in my trunks in over 10 years.

And the thing that truly surprises me is that I don't feel like I'm 'poor'. I didn't grow up with a lot of my own clothes. I went to Catholic school and had to wear a uniform. The only other clothes I had were 4 dress for church (2 summer, 2 winter) and a pair of jeans and a few sweat shirts. I shared my closet with my mother and she had the chest of drawers in my room. We weren't poor, far from it. But my practical mother could not fathom why I would need more clothing than that.

I never had appropriate clothing for any activity outside of school and church. I used to go to an after school program and wear the same pair (the only pair) of jeans I owned every day. The other kids caught on and teased me unmercifully. When I told my mother about this she gave me some words to tell them rather than buying me some more clothes. I really wish y'all could see the fullness if her walk in closet. SMH. Anyway... I learned to fight and was often suspended from the program. Mommie thought I had some kind of mental defect and spent money sending me to a pychiatrist rather than buying me some new clothes.

All that changed when I turned 16. I took a job in a woman's clothing store and proceeded to pump my wardrobe. My mother didn't care. What shocked me was she said that this was what she was waiting for. Waiting for the moment when we could do fashion together. I interpreted that then and now as we can share fashion only when I could afford to carry my own weight.

Well since that day, as long as I have had access to money, I have made it my business to have a bulging closet. But since this last year, since fasting from buying new clothes, I have finally murdered that particular devil. Now I'm at the point where I can get rid of so much. I suppose in this aspect I'm beginning to embrace the "Poor" in "Poor, righteous teachers."

It was not my intention for this blog to be as long as it is. But it just flowed out of me. But... It feels good y'all!



Peace

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