It's all relative...

At the end of my normally crazy work week, in addition to getting 48 hours off for good behavior, I had a very nice personal reward waiting for me. We had planned on spending Friday evening enjoying a meal at a local restaurant with some overnight guests. My cousin Frank and his wife Kathy were on their way through town and stopped for a very brief visit before jumping on a plane early this morning. Because neither my nor Roger's work schedule allowed for time off during the day, we only had a short 12 hours to spend with them, and we intended to make the most of it. We met as soon as both of us returned home from work, and chatted while getting ready to head out for a great dinner along the shoreline.

The usual catch-up conversation of relatives of our age revolved around the adult children of each family, weddings past as well as future and then of course the upcoming birth of our grandson. We all readily agreed how wonderful this time in our 50's can be as we watch the family begin to grow again, and how much we look forward to seeing everyone married and starting families of their own.

I sometimes stumble over describing our recent numbers...how we've grown from 4 to 6 and how we will very soon be a family of 7. It's not just a simple issue of addition, although I have been known to experience problems with basic arithmetic....it's more than that for me, we were 4 for so much longer than we have been 6 and although the transition was a gradual one, I still sometimes forget, even while viewing photographs of our six smiling faces.

Change, even a gradual one, can sometimes take a bit of time to become accustomed to and the subtle differences we will eventually be required to come to accept....please understand I am no longer in any way, shape or form, referring to our growing family...I'm only discussing me at this point.

In my quest to simplify my morning routine as I prepare for work, I like grabbing the easiest outfit from my closet and just running out the door. For me, that had always been a suit, either jacket and slacks or jacket and skirt. In years gone by, it was the standard dress code for most law firms, and I had a closet full of them. They especially came in handy for court appearances, which have become less of an occurrence during my time with this particular company, until January when we spent 2 days before the judge. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed throwing on a suit and giving little thought to what I would wear to work. Even though during the last month, while being assigned to this off-site project, I've been wearing mostly jeans and comfortable casual clothes, I still held the thought in the back of my mind that I wanted to add more suits to my wardrobe.

I had assessed my clothing budget and decided what would work and how I would go about transitioning back to this old routine of dressing each day. And then came the fun part, going shopping and actually searching for my suits. I had purchased two new ones in January, and was on the look out for 2 more today. I prefer simple designs with clean lines, and a comfortable fit and tend to always gravitate towards Jones New York, Nine West and Calvin Klein. Easy enough...I grabbed 4 suits and headed to the dressing room.

Have I mentioned my issue with over-eating, chocolate, cruise food and sitting for extended periods of time....well...you guessed it...my evil ways have finally caught up with me, as well they should have!!! I've been eating like a bored teenager and indulging in one too many loaves of olive bread and I really don't care....WOW....this feeling is just not right (I'm listening to a boat go by on the river and the radio is blasting those lyrics...just thought I'd use them here since they seemed to fit)

My normal size actually DIDN'T fit, and for pretty much the first time in my life, I didn't think twice and just went back to the rack and got the next size. Now before you all breath a sigh of relief, and/or slap me upside the head and try to explain that it is normal as we age to add a few pounds now and then, STOP, because I finally agree that it's OK and I'm gonna go with the flow for once. I'm not going to get on the scale, I'm not going to change my eating habits, I'm not going to search for a new way to drop 5 or 10 lbs...I'm just gonna accept the extra "junk in my trunk" and enjoy the fact that it looks good on me--at least that's what my husband says.

I mean in all honesty, why does it really matter what size I am, the rest of the world doesn't seem to care one way or another....so why do I spend any amount of time contemplating my own girth???? You may even be wondering why you are wasting your time reading my never ending drivel today...and you will probably just want to line me up against the wall and shoot me for even broaching this subject....and I wouldn't even blame you, not one little bit. Have I mentioned I really shouldn't be writing in the state I've been in the last 4 weeks????

Oh what the heck...I'll continue on at the risk of alienating all those who thought they once loved me...because most women of my age don't discuss the size they wear or even their weight for fear of shame and the judgement of others. It must be just about time to load those bullets into the gun you will want to shoot me with...you see....I grew from a 4 to a 6....HORRORS of all HORRORS...stop the presses....the world will now come to an end...I now have jiggly bits, as the Brits are so famous for saying, and I am equally famous for NOT liking such things when I look in the mirror!!! I guess it must be time to get rid of that nasty mirror :)

The good news of the day (other than everyone cheering out there that Joanne is finally becoming "normal"--is that really even possible???), I saved a ton of money on what I like to refer to as WAY over-priced designer labels. Who in their right mind pays full price for anything??? I know I NEVER have. No kidding, these suits have a sticker MSRP of $280 and $240 and I paid (yes, I know--another faux pax--talking about the price of things--people just need to get over that and share news of the great buys they find) $48.99 & $49.99...hey it's my budget folks, take it or leave it.

So after all is said and done...family size is all relative....the size of my bottom is all relative and spending any amount of time with relatives is priceless....that's my story and I'm sticking to it....did I mention that during the acceptance process and to celebrate my "gradual change" I pulled into the drive-thru at Arbys for a Angus Beef sandwich on the way home...another first for me....so in my small little world, as 4 transitions to 6 yet again....it's all relative...