Hobo scarecrow

My clothes have been fitting less well over the course of this season. I was a big fan of the "baggy" look because it helped to conceal my weight, but lately I've been sporting an excessively baggy look. It's the same clothes, they just don't fit as well any more. I had popped the button off of almost all my dress pants, so I would have to wear a belt to hide the missing button. Now the pants won't stay up without a belt, and my belt needs a new hole punched in it ... and not on the side of the belt I'm used to punching holes! I don't want to buy new clothes yet, so I'm stuck wearing old stuff. I go to work looking like a hobo scarecrow ... and I like it. These were clothes that fit me just fine thirty pounds ago, but not any more. It helps me appreciate how far I've come.

The other day, my wife pulled a shirt out of the back of the closet and asked me to try it on. I'd tried it on once before ... about four years ago. She saw it on a clearance rack and thought it would fit me. It's a nice shirt and I was all "cool" ... and then I tried it on and I was embarrassed. I couldn't even button it. It went into the closet and had sat there until just the other day. At my wife's urging, I tried it on again ... and it fit quite comfortably. I looked svelte! I looked good!

I wore that shirt to work the next day and several coworkers gathered around me and commented that I was dressed nicely (I picked up the gently implied "for a change"). I told them the story of the shirt and got a few nice comments. It felt good to get such positive encouragement from people I respect.

Unfortunately, I wasn't wise enough to leave it there and said what popped into my head ... "this is my sexy shirt!" It went from cool to awkward really quick.