Have you ever found yourself in a rut?  Like a personal rut, not it is October and you are a male deer seeking female companionship kind of rut.  Those kind of ruts are okay.  No, I am speaking of a rut such as your family has eaten spaghetti for dinner every night for a month, the car hasn’t been seen dust-free for 6 months and life has gotten to be a monotonous continuation of days all melded together by dust and spaghetti sauce.  That is the rut of which I speak.  I recently discovered myself to be in such a rut.  A clothing rut.  I realized with horror I hadn’t worn anything but a t-shirt and shorts for 4 months, 2 days, 6 hours and 22 minutes.  Except on Sunday mornings, but church doesn’t count.  Only I actually went to Sunday evening church in the previously mentioned attire.  WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?  I own multiple scarves.  I have a somewhat enviable brooch collection.

Proof: My favorite brooch. A chicken, naturally.

I used to live in flouncy skirts and cute blouses with baby doll sleeves and lace.  Trousers and button-downs, carefully ironed.  Heels for goodness sake!   I found myself reduced to black GAP shorts, a Pink Floyd T-Shirt featuring the Dark Side of the Moon cover and flip-flops.  Good Lord in Heaven.

The Offenders.

Thankfully, due to the full length mirror I’d been avoiding for months and some recently acquired photos of myself I decided I must take action!  I sat down and made a plan to follow for the next 30 days, a self-improvement plan so to speak.  I was going to do 6 things every day for a month.  Walk, Read my Bible, Go to bed at 9:00, Get up at 5:30, (I’ve already forgotten number 5 and I can’t find my list), and I vowed to not wear a t-shirt in public.  So far I’ve walked almost every day, I’m a little over half-way thru Genesis, I have managed to go to bed a little sooner but getting up at 5:30 is apparently beyond me.  Number 5 must not have been THAT important.  But number 6, that I have been able to accomplish with flair!

Okay, maybe ‘flair’ is stretching it a bit.  But still, 10 days and no old t-shirt on this girls back, no sir!  And you know what?  I feel so much better about myself!  It is amazing how foreign some of my clothes felt for a few days but we have been reunited and, for the most part, still love one another.  Except the size 4 green dress with matching 3/4 sleeve jacket and ribbon details that I bought in Atlanta 10 years ago.  I love it but it doesn’t love me back because it decided to shrink without telling me and I can not get it over my hips.  I thought that was very unkind, rude and borderline unforgivable.  Don’t you?  I hung it back up after giving it a good tongue lashing and informed it that it better get back right before Easter or I’m gonna throw it in the Goodwill pile.  So there.  In spite of a very spiteful dress my quest to dress like a real human has gone rather well.  If you find yourself in a rut I’d suggest start with small things.  By the end of the month, who knows, I may be up for saving the world!  But I’m starting with my wardrobe……

The Evil Shrinking Dress