Same Old Outfit

 

Back in 1997 I bought a pair of navy shorts at Walt Disney World.  (I know I bought them in the Magic Kingdom, and I'm pretty sure that they came from the Emporium.)  They are extra-large because I was extra large back then.  (Thankfully now I'm a large or maybe a medium if I'm lucky.)  They still fit (even if they are a bit large) because the waist is elastic and there is a tie in the front.  (They are so old, that part of the string broke off, but that's okay because I no longer need that much string!)

Several years later (somewhere between 1999 and 2003) my local Kmart (which, of course is no more) had a bunch of Disney women's sleeveless shirts on sale.  I bought a bright pink button down with Minnie on it which I no longer have.  I also bought a white one with a zipper and Tigger in a grass hula skirt on the left side.  That one I still have.

So these are pretty old clothes.  I still wear them.  I USED to wear them regularly.  (They are pretty comfortable.)  Now I just wear them once a year...despite the fact that they are getting a bit worn.  Why?  Well that's the story I'd like to tell. (Many of you may already know it...keep reading anyway, okay?)

Back on August 4, 2005, I put on these clothes.  I put them on because they were comfortable.  I put them on because I probably wanted to show my "Disney."  I put them on because I thought I looked pretty good.  All these things were important to me that day.  That was the day I was going to meet my son.

Before my husband and I did that, we had a LONG drive ahead of us.  Now Google maps tells me the drive is about 5 hours, but back then I didn't have Google maps and I went (what I thought was) the most direct way, which took around 6 hours.  To be honest it felt like a lot more than that, and we didn't even take a lot of bathroom breaks.  (I'll never forget that the first rest stop that I wanted to pull over at was CLOSED and I had to keep going until the next one.)  I know we left our home around seven in the morning (gassing up before we went) and got to the hospital around one.  (I know we got the call that our son had been born around 8:30, even though his time of birth had been about 3 hours earlier.  I *think* my husband made us stop to eat something at McDonalds, but I'm not 100% on that one. )  That afternoon we met our son and I was wearing the navy Disney shorts and the white top with Tigger on it.  To say it was a momentous occasion is putting it mildly.

A year later, for some reason, I put on the same outfit for my son's first birthday.  Was it intentional?  Probably?  When I did the same on his second, I'm not sure if it was or not.  However, by his third, it was definitely a tradition.  And ever since then I've been wearing the same top and for the most part the same shorts.  (I think I cheated once in 2016 and wore a skirt because I had to go to the office.)  The watch that I wore that day 18 years ago, is long gone (sorry Minnie Mouse), but I still have the same earrings and rings that I wore that day.  (I've stacked on some additionals to my right hand, where in addition to the silver colored Mickey head ring I wore back in 2003, I now have 2 gold wedding bands...one was my mother's and the other my father's.)

Eighteen is a pivotal year.  The tiny baby (well maybe not so tiny) that I held back in 2003 towers over me.  (And has for several years.)  There are no more weeks at the beach with Grandma and Grandpa.  Instead there is the summer job, the same one he's held for 3 years.  And in just 20 days, he'll be moving out of the house and into a dorm room.  (YIKES!)

How much longer will I be able to wear this shirt and shorts?  (As well as getting my annual photo?)  I hope we are not coming to the end of unplanned tradition, but who knows what my adult son will be doing next August 4th.

In the meantime, I WILL get my annual photo sometime today. (After work?)  And I will always treasure the 18 photos that came before it.