Friend of Julie: still can't believe it

I was 6 pounds when I was born, and by the time I left the hospital I was 5 lbs something ounces. I was a normal sized baby.

I was also the first girl born in my father’s family in 50 years, and in Italian that meant major celebration! I think they were stuffing polenta into my mouth before I even left the hospital.
I didn’t stay normal sized for long. By the time I was in school I had to shop in the ‘Chubbette’ department in Sears. In 2nd grade I made my first communion. I couldn’t wait to get a ‘stick out princess bride’ white dress for that day! I longed for that dress. Then we went shopping for the dress and guess what, the Chubbette department didn’t sell those types of dresses. My dress was so UGLY, but for my size I was lucky I got something. My disappointment was so intense…
I could never just buy an outfit from the store without trying it on. When I was an infant, my mom could go to the store and just buy off the racks for me, 6 months, 12 months and so on. When that changed I have no idea, but from the time I was in school, I had to try on everything before I could buy it to make sure it fit. Thus set the way for my life.

Then yesterday happened...

I went with my oldest daughter to Savers, they were having a 50% off sale. Savers is a great store, kind of like Salvation army, but even better!! The store was packed worse than a store on Black Friday. But we went with our game plan in mind. It never occurred to me that the line for the fitting room would be longer than the cashier lines!!!

I grabbed shirts size large, with the intention of trying them on. My daughter was grabbing skirts for me to try on. Now skirts in my lifestyle are hard to come by. We belong to a church where we dress very modestly and long modest skirts are a main staple in my closet and are VERY hard to find. Yesterday we grabbed 2 in sizes 15/16 and 1 woman’s large - 13/14. The 13/14 looked big and I figured it was a misprint but I figured I’ll try it on… Headed to the changing room and realized I didn’t have hours to wait in line. What do I do? Panic set in. I can’t buy anything without trying them on, I just can’t. They won’t fit!

I had a friend once who never tried anything on. She would get it home, try it on and then either bring them back or stick them up in the attic for someday when they fit. No way was I going to do that.

I was literally panicked. I looked very carefully at the bundle of clothes in my arms. Finally my daughter said, without having any clue of my fear, “mom, just buy them, you can always bring them back”. UGH!

So against my better judgment I bought them.

I didn’t look at them yesterday because I knew there was no way they were going to fit. I didn’t try them on at the store!

Today I pulled out the bag. I argued with myself. No way did I want to try them on and find out they didn’t fit, I would be depressed and discouraged. So again, I looked carefully at my purchases.

While I fought in my mind what to do, I decided, oh well, lets get this over with.
Now, you must remember I am 54 years old, overweight ALL my life except my infant years. Made fun of in school teased, ridiculed. NEVER bought anything from a store with out trying them on from a young child and up. Shopped the Chubbette department and all those specialty stores… Even my wedding dress wasn't what I had dreamed of...

They fit! OH MY GOODNESS, they fit! Everything I bought fit! I actually bought clothes right off a rack and they fit!! I have put on each thing at least 3 times since I got that bag out this morning to make sure I am seeing this right.

Now, some of you may laugh and say this woman is off the wall! LOL!!!
I may be off the wall but I bought them right off the rack without the middle step!!!!!!
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, WHAT ARE THOSE STRANGE NUMBERS IN MY CLOSET????????????????????

By the way, I didn't pay those prices for my clothes, they were half price off the ticket prices!!!!!! Whose closet am I looking in?? sizes in the teens?? MY CLOSET????? YES!!!!!!!