#reverb15 // Day 27 // Worn out

I'm joining pals Sarah and Elizabeth to write every day in the month of December, feel free to join in any time! Today's prompt: Worn Out. What did you completely wear out and have to replace this year?

I love lots of things. And I love loving them to death. This year, there was my old nike run vest which had holes in both armpits and ripped mesh on the side. I continued to wear it long after the holes were noticeable. I finally broke down and replaced it with the Lululemon Pack-it Vest, the closest I could find to the weight and fit, but only after first relentlessly searching online to find the exact same nike one from 8 years before. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! But, if you have to fix it, fix it with Lulu.

There was also our iMac computer. G has had this computer far longer than even we have been together, but finally this year it went kaput. We tried to resuscitate it at the Apple Genius bar, but alas, the age of our equipment was classified as "antique" and the genius who was helping us made a bit of a smelly face while explaining to us that there was simply no way our power supply could be replaced. IT geeks, don't try to help me now, I've already done the deed. Lulumeon doesn't make computers yet, so we went ahead and replaced the iMac with a Mac mini. It works great as part of our TV console, and we use it in the living room, rather than on a classic desktop office.

But there aren't many things that I become sentimentally attached to. There are few things that I love to death and just can't let go. One of these such items is a pair of jeans... we all have that pair of jeans, right?? Not the skinny ones that you dream every night of being able to fit into and can't throw away in hopes that one fateful day you can don them gracefully again. No, not those. The ones that make you feel perfect just the way you are.

I bought these jeans on deep discount from The Shop on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, FL the very first time I ever visited that fabulous city. At the time, even with the discount I couldn't believe I was spending more than $100 on a pair of jeans. And, being only 22 years old at the time, my income was not such to be supporting this kind of frivolity. It might have been the best money I've ever spent- money that's gone a long long way and gotten a lot of mileage.

The jeans are a special edition of 7 For All Mankind. They are special edition for two reasons, the deconstructed wash is super heavy so the jeans were like two-ply cheesecloth, and pink stitching. PINK. The torn up jeans thing was starting to become a thing at the time, and pink... well, pink is just me. They fit me like they were made just for me and no one else.

What's really amazing about these jeans is that they have come with me through so many phases of my life where I've been in many different stages of body composition and weight, but they always fit. Like those jeans on Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 20 lbs heavier, 10 lbs lighter, it never mattered, they always just fit. And make me feel fabulous.

14 years later, the two-ply cheesecloth is more like one-ply, they are frayed along both back heels from being walked on, and I have had to have them patched from the inside twice - once on the left inner thigh, and once on the right butt cheek. The right inner thigh is about 2 washes away from needing to be reinforced also. Damn quadzillas!! I love having strong legs, but when they mess with my favorite jeans... grrrrrrr.

I've worn these jeans out. But I will never be able to replace them, nor will I ever want to. I'll patch them until all that's left is patches. Or, until Lululemon makes the perfect pair of pink stitched jeans that feel like they've been worn for more than a decade.

#Reflect #reverb15