Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Not Slow, Not Steady

Having grown up with five younger brothers, you would think that I would be very familiar with this phenomenon, but it surprises me every single time.

Growth spurts.

I guess I never really noticed when I was young because we always had the same set of clothes around - I didn't particularly pay attention to who was actually wearing said set at any given time. And sometimes there would be new stuff to pass along to the next brother. I probably had the same growth pattern, but I don't remember ever not having clothes that fit.

My son will never be able to say the same thing. Once I bought him a pair of shoes and he outgrew them within a week. I'm serious!

This morning, he came downstairs wearing a pair of pants pulling tight across his butt and thighs and the same shirt he'd worn the day before. I told him to go back upstairs and change and he replied with a very plaintive "But Mom, nothing I have fits anymore!"

It fit yesterday, but not today.

After school, we went to Goodwill. I refuse to pay mega bucks for clothes he may not even be wearing a month from now. We got a nice, warm jacket, two sweat shirts, 6 t-shirts and two pairs of pants. The pants were men's sizes, so I need to hem them up. I got all of the above for $60. Had I tried that in a retail store, the sixty bucks might have covered the jacket, or maybe two pairs of pants and two shirts. I'm a firm believer in second-hand stores for growing boys!!!

Once upon a time, I would buy my boy clothes every two years. I'd buy them a little big and after a couple of years of wear, you'd be seeing his belly button and his ankles, so I'd donate them and start over. Now, he'll stay the same size for a while, then suddenly gain two sizes and nothing will fit.

Tonight, I hem - -and empty out the drawers of all the clothes he can't wear anymore.

5 comments:

Pamela said...

I felt guilty in the past about going to Goodwill because I thought it was for people who were having money problems (not that I wasn't ... but that isn't my point)

someone finally pointed out that by shopping there I can help some of the people that Goodwill hires keep their jobs. I like that.

So I stop there whenever I feel like it and have no guilt whatsoever about paying so little for so much.

Sayre said...

Goodwill is apparently no longer a non-profit, so they charge more than they used to - but compared to retail, it's still a good deal.

We all shop there for the majority of our clothes. Jeans are jeans, wherever you buy them!

grace said...

Sayre, I took out your e-mail address, did not want to post it publicly! Wasn't sure if it was your public e-mail address...have a great day

Jill said...

We're still in the 'buy sizes ahead' pile over here. Only on sale. I've not had good luck for myself at 'secondhand' shops, so I'm leery of buying clothes for Keeley that just dont' end up fitting. Something marked a six or 8 shouldn't really be a shrunken size 2, you know?

gayle said...

I think that is a great idea! We have a 2nd hand kids shop near us and I have bought toys, books and clothes for my grandson.