This reminded me of an article I read a few years ago about a woman who solved the problem of what to do with some of her favourite things. She created her cabin/cottage wardrobe... meaning all of her favourite things that got similar reactions to mine were sent up to the family cottage where she would wear them on her weekend getaways. The photos of her shoveling dirt while wearing a prom dress with a tacky, bulky cardigan and gumboots were hilarious.
I also remember my girlfriend telling me that she would wash her dishes wearing her wedding dress because, in her own words, "where the hell am I ever going to wear it?" Since her divorce, I wonder if she has repurposed the gown - dartboard maybe?
But the idea is simply genius... I love the idea of repurposing those items which I simply love and have no desire to part with. One of these items includes a sweater I purchased in 1986 from Woodward's for $75 (a fortune for a 12 year old!) using the last money I ever received as a Christmas gift from my grandfather. As I pulled it out of the storage bin, I was thrilled that it: a)still fit (okay, skinny 12 year old me bought a man's sweater) and; b)is in perfect condition.
So, of course, this reminds me of "the chair." This chair was once my grandfather's and something I have been lugging around since 1986. It is cheap, ugly and in total disrepair... but I am apparently completely unable to part with it. When I moved into my new classroom this year, I think what I was happiest about is that this chair finally had a home where I could enjoy it everyday but it was no longer cluttering up my own home. What someone else considers crap (as in, an overeager apparently entitled TOC currently invading my space) has become a treasured item in my room which students respect the sanctity of... seriously... it's weird that they "get" my over protectedness of this stupid chair... treating it with more respect than any other item in the room. And THIS gives me hope that they are not the insensitive shits everyone tells me they are.
So, of course, this reminds me of "the chair." This chair was once my grandfather's and something I have been lugging around since 1986. It is cheap, ugly and in total disrepair... but I am apparently completely unable to part with it. When I moved into my new classroom this year, I think what I was happiest about is that this chair finally had a home where I could enjoy it everyday but it was no longer cluttering up my own home. What someone else considers crap (as in, an overeager apparently entitled TOC currently invading my space) has become a treasured item in my room which students respect the sanctity of... seriously... it's weird that they "get" my over protectedness of this stupid chair... treating it with more respect than any other item in the room. And THIS gives me hope that they are not the insensitive shits everyone tells me they are.So, I end this rather lengthy sappy blog with this: I give thanks for a few of my favourite things...
