Clothes Museum




	WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" July 10, 2002 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ----------------------------------------------------------- By subscription only! Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart" ------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a heart-warming story to share? We are accepting story submissions at this time. Please e-mail your original story to moderator@write2theheart.com ------------------------------------------------------------- After ready Maria's story, I was inspired to go out and buy a closet organizer. I thought I would use it as an excuse to clean out my closet and cull many of the things I don't wear. I think all I did was make room so I can go visit my favorite "V.V. Boutique"! ------------------------------------------------------------- The Clothes Museum By Maria Harden ------------------------------------------------------------- Why is it that women are so obsessed with clothes? It is obvious, just from being at any mall, that the majority of retail stores are geared toward the female species. I am not sure what the ratio of women's apparel stores versus other stores is, but I have a pretty good idea, which one ranks higher in the popularity poll. Like many women, I was a clotheshorse, and proud of it. When I was in my twenties, I spent a ridiculous amount of money on clothing and an equally ridiculous amount of time trying to make them look good on me. Sometimes that was an exercise in futility since I did not exactly boast model proportions, but that never stopped me from trying. I used clothes to bolster my ego, to keep up with the trends, and es, to show off. "Vanity, thy name is woman," could have been written just for me. Let's face it -- I was a fool for fashion. As I got older and somewhat wiser (although that might be debatable), I found that trendy clothes did not have long taying power. They were in one year and out the other. By my thirties, I had matured somewhat, and instead of following fashion trends, I strove for a more classic look. he problem was I couldn't afford to be too original, not with a on who only wanted to wear well-known labels, and a husband who spent more on a golf shirt than I did on a week's worth of groceries. Then I discovered there was a gold mine in "gently used" clothing stores, and it wasn't long before I found my first nugget: a designer sweater, virtually unworn, with not one flaw. It was perfect. I snapped it up, almost salivating in glee. Department stores had sold these same sweaters for upwards of $80, and now I owned one, for less than $5. When a co-worker inquired where I had gotten my beautiful sweater, I casually remarked, "From V.V. Boutique." That was my code name for one of the second-hand stores I frequented, called "Value Village." V.V. Boutique and I carried on a secret love affair for years. It didn't take long for my closet to became stuffed with clothing bargains. Silk blouses, linen dresses and woolen slacks -- oh my! Eventually my bedroom closet became such a clothes museum, I could have sold tickets to view my "vintage" collection. The clothes slowly started to propagate to my husband's side of our walk-in closet, then to the linen closet. My cedar chest that had once held hopes and dreams now contained sweaters. Lots of them. The day came when I knew my priorities had shifted. Now that I was in my forties, what I wore no longer seemed as important as it once was. Somewhat reluctantly, I began to tackle the arduous task of culling the clothes I no longer wore. Some items I had no recollection of ever purchasing. It was amusing to see how my taste had changed over the years. Did I actually go out in public wearing that blouse with the clown ruffle in front, or the one with the attached tie? What was I thinking when I bought that faux fur vest that looked like it belonged in my cat's sleeping basket? Resolutely, I packed up anything that didn't fit, was clearly out of style, or not worn in a couple of years. Box after box was going to charity. There were a few items I could not bring myself to part with for sentimental reasons. For one crazy moment I considered keeping everything, reasoning that what goes around, comes around, but common sense prevailed. Let someone else wear these "retro" clothes and think they were on to something. My closet now boasts an abundance of hangers and plenty of room for the contents to hang neatly. I can hang up freshly ironed clothes and they won't immediately wrinkle from being squished too closely together. The other day someone asked me if my jacket was a "Jones New York." I answered, "No, it's a Wal-Mart original." That's when I knew I no longer needed to attend a ten-step program for Clothes-a-holics Anonymous. Since closing the doors of my clothes museum, my husband is glad he has his closet space back. One can never have too many golf shirts, he tells me, as he hurries down to the Golfwear Outlet. And my cat? He really enjoys his new fur-lined basket. Maria Harden © 2002 <mharden @ escape.ca> (You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story, just remember to remove the space before and after the @ symbol. The space is placed in the address to protect our writers from viruses.) Have a comment on todays story? Send it to: moderator@write2theheart.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- Maria lives and writes in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She has adopted a new policy for clothing purchases -- for every new article she buys, one must go! She is spending the summer in shorts and tee shirts, as she has the best job in the world: babysitting her three year old grandson. The pay beats all, as she gets paid in hugs and kisses. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Letters From Our Readers --------------------------------------------------------------- I think "The Cherry Tomato" has a wonderful message. David was fortunate to have you for a teacher. It's sad the way some children treat others. I don't remember that happening when I was a little girl way back in the 40s, but a few bratty kids surfaced at the new school I attended in 6th grade after moving to a new home. I remember some kids who seemed to enjoy snubbing my youngest daughter when she was in grade school. I don't know why they were so cruel. They lived a half a block from us, and had to walk by our house on their way to school. They made a point of ignoring our daughter, who was the same age. They walked across the street if she tried to join them. It almost broke my heart. Luckily, she had good friends at school, and friends on our block. Also, she was fortunate to have two protective and loving big sisters, and a family who all loved her. Now at the age of 42, Terri is very popular, and has dozens of friends, as well as her adoring husband and two teen-aged children. I have a daughter who lives in Florida with her husband. She is an elementary teacher. He also works with elementary students, but he isn't a teacher. I'm sending them your story. Keep writing those stories. Pat Lowe ** Such a beautiful story about the young boy and his tomato. It brought thoughts to me concerning a beautiful child that I met at the doctor's office a few days ago. I had taken my aunt to the doctor as we were sitting in the waiting room a lady came in with her granddaughter. I overheard the lady talking to the receptionist about the child and my heart was so touched. Seems the child had been placed in the care of the lady by the court system. This child is probably 5 or 6 years of age. She is a lovely little girl and has been through a real tragedy. She was kidnapped and also was raped. The child is now traumatized and has seizures. I looked at the child and smiled and told her that she was a beautiful little girl. She came over to where I was sitting and gave me a hug. I hugged her back and then talked with her. She has a speech problem so was not able to speak but the glow in her eyes and the hug spoke volumes. I had a book on my lap and she removed the book then backed up to my lap so that she could sit down and be close to me. People in the waiting room started looking at me like I had lost my mind. Being from the south, white people do not allow themselves to get too close to blacks. I am a white lady and the child is black. Let me tell you that at the time I was being involved with the child, I was not seeing color. I was seeing a child that needed a hug and needed someone to reach out to her. She was not the only one that needed a touch for I needed her hug as much as she needed mine. Lettie ** That certainly is a good story. I've read similar ones and we need to keep reminding ourselves of these children who need a kind word, look, smile or some sort of recognition of their human dignity. All of us have this need, in fact! Keep those stories coming..... Thanks. Love, Nancee ------------------------------------------------------------ Cheryl's Corner I am now the proud owner of a 1998 GREEN Toyota Camry! The year and model was important to David, the color was important to me. This is the first car I have owned in 21 years! I have had practical vans to haul our sons and their ball teams around in. It is so nice to see a parking space and not have to calculate if I am to big for it or not. We had to run to Tennessee suddenly last week. David's sister was put in ICU and we felt we needed to go check on her. She is home now, but is going to have to make life changes. This is why there was no issue last week, I will reschedule all stories that are coming up. God Bless Cheryl ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- © 2002 Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors. --------------------------------------------------------------- All subscriptions sent to your e-mail free of charge.