Thursday, May 7, 2009

What Gwennie wants, Gwennie gets!

When Gwennie says, "jump!" I say, "how high, SIR?", um, "M'AM!". Those military terms confuse me.

Anyway, the sweet, lovely, generous, beautiful, funny as hell Gwen over at Everything I like causes cancer has just celebrated her 600th post! Congrats! And slow the hell down. You're making the rest of us look bad!

On her 600th post, she told us about her pajama top: I love it because my mom gave it to me. I love it because it has rubbed against and been removed by every man I have ever seriously loved. I love it because it's comfortable. It never stays in my dresser very long because it's always my first choice. Apologies to all my other pajama tops, but this one is my favorite.

I suspect everyone has at least one piece of clothing like my pajama top: that pair of shoes you can't seem to throw in the trash despite them being broken down and sole less; that ratty-ass three-quarter-sleeve tee-shirt from the 1986 AC/DC Fly on The Wall tour that is covered in paint stains the same color as your second bathroom; that pair of jeans you finally had to make into cut-off shorts and now you can't get rid of the shorts even though your ass hangs out the bottom like a $2 hooker.

She asked her followers, read loyal servants, to celebrate with her by taking pictures and posting "your clothing/footwear/accessory equivalent of my pajama top and take a picture of the revered item" (check the whole post HERE).

Here you go, Gwendolyn.

This pair of shorts belonged to the last man I officially lived with, the one who gave me a beautiful engagement ring with an amethyst surrounded by diamond chips in an antique setting. I took the ring and the shorts with me when I left him - almost exactly 10 years ago to the day, coincidentally. I've obviously painted quite a few rooms in them, and somehow they have managed to stretch and grow with me. They are my go to pajamas/bum shorts in the summer. (note, this was not the guy that almost ended up killing me - I threw almost everything from him away!)


I bought this tank top because it looked really cute over a navy blue sports bra and bike shorts when I used to take kick-boxing. I doubt I'll ever see those bike shorts again, but the tank top, again, has managed to stretch and grow with me. Like the shorts, it's my go to pajama/bum shirt in the summer. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing it right now.



In the winter, these pants are a favorite. Ask anyone who knows me - if I'm home and don't have anywhere else to go that night, I'm probably wearing these. They are warm and soft and huge and comfy. I found them at Fashion Bug 3 Christmases ago, bought them and told my son to wrap them up and give them to me. Best $7 clearance special ever!


Here's where I'm going to get weird, because that is what I do. I know the spirit of Gwen's post was not just pajamas. It was about a soft sentimental item that you love because of nostalgia, sweetness, even poignancy. I'm going to let you in on a secret of mine that not too many people outside of my immediate family know about. (Here's the secret you asked for on Facebook, Cora.)

Some people have a lucky talisman, or an object that brings them comfort. Along those lines, I have Winslow. Winslow is a stuffed dog that was given to me by my brother, Jimmy, while I was in a hospital when I was 15. That silly little stuffed animal brought me much needed comfort at that time, and many times after. I have to admit that it has probably been held in a hug almost every time I have cried since then, for almost a quarter of a century. After my brother died 16 years ago, it took on an extra special meaning to me. As you can tell from the following pictures, I have almost worn the poor thing out.



His shirt used to say, "Winslow loves you".


And he used to have a tail. Repeated washing has lead to the use of safety pins, as I'm obviously much too lazy to sew him back up and sew his tail back on.


So, what do you think, TMI? Consider yourselves lucky, I didn't even tell you the whole stories. There are at least 4 more blog posts I could spin off from this one.

p.s. Gwennie, I may have been in a weird place last night when I offered to take off the actual tank top and send you a picture of it, and me NOT wearing it. If you're still interested *call me*. ;)

6 comments:

Cora said...

Awwwww Fance ~ Winslow is the cutest thing ever!! This should be the spin off of Gwen's idea - now we should all post stuffed animals and things that we are attached to. I have a teddy bear in my living room that I got when I was 5 months old. My daughter wanted to adopt it for her own when she was younger and I was like HELL NO, YOU'RE NOT GETTING MY TEDDY BEAR!! *gasp*

Gwen said...

Aw, you pinned his pooper! Ow!

Out of all the items I saw today, Fance, yours are the most comfortable. Which I find interesting because that's exactly how I feel with you. You're a
peach and I'm so glad you helped me celebrate.

I think Cora is onto something with her Winslow Project idea. I know exactly where my "Winslow" is and it has a good story.

Make it happen! /Tim Gunn

Fancy Schmancy said...

Love the idea of a Winslow Project, glad you guys enjoyed him!

Prunella Jones said...

Awwww very cute.

I have a lucky rock that I carry around in my pocket. It's not cute like Winslow though.

JoJo said...

Wait till my stuffed horse, Trax, opens his new Facebook page. Then we can compete for who needs mental health help the most. lol

Anonymous said...

Ok, I just stumbled upon this and I had to tell you that I have Winslow, too! My grandmother gave him to me when I was 2 and I am now 26. His t-shirt is long gone but he still means the world to me. Just had to share and am so glad that Winslow is so special to someone else!!