My hand-me-down skirt

In the winter of 2008 my boss brought in 3 enormous bags of clothes to the office.  She said I could have any or all of it if I wanted, because it no longer fit her.  She had lost weight.  Whoopie.

I had just started on my weight loss journey in February 2008 and wasn’t really ready to start buying new skinny clothes.  I took the bags home, went thru them and decided that all of it was never going to fit me.  There were mostly size 10s and 12s and at that point, there was only 1 skirt that I could even get on my chubby little body.  It was a black cotton skirt and it fit, no doubt, because it was the skirt equivalent of “sweat pants”.  A soft gray Anthropologie skirt sized 12 almost fit, so I decided to keep that too.

I went back into the office and told her the outcome.  She insisted I keep more, she said, “You’ll get there”.  I thought to myself, “My days of wearing 10s and 12s are over.”

So, I kept more of the clothes.  Some pants from Banana Republic, a zig-zag pattern skirt from Michael Kors, many black button down shirts, and more black skirts than anyone should own.  As my weight loss continued, I started showing up to work wearing these pieces and each time my boss would congratulate me.

The Michael Kors skirt became a favorite of mine and I loved getting compliments when I wore it.  It was one of those pieces of clothing I would have never bought for myself.  It had to be over $100, easily, and for me, that’s just too much to spend on 1 skirt.  That was the great thing about these hand-me-downs too, most of it was great quality stuff that had hardly been worn.   None of it was crap from Target, if you know what I mean.

Today, after not losing or gaining at WW last night, I am wearing that size 12 Anthropologie skirt.  I was afraid to try and put it on this morning, afraid that it would buckle at the seams.  It didn’t.  It glided on without a problem and has been quite comfortable all day.  It’s even a little big!  Such a good feeling to be in clothes that fit you right.  A better feeling than what any food could provide.  It was a good reminder to wear that skirt today. Reminded me that I have come a long way, that I will go farther and most of all, that not all successes are measured by tenths on the scale.

I’m gonna kick this week in the pants and lose some weight.  My WW leader Ellen always ends her meeting with, “who’s coming back next week? who’s losing weight next week?”

Me and Me.