I have nothing to wear and a closet full of clothes.
Isn’t this a standard joke about women? That we have closets, drawers and bins full
of clothes but still take hours to get dressed and can’t find the right outfit
for the occasion? Okay, so we like to
look and feel good in our clothes.
What’s wrong with that? Nothing!
I’m sure so many of you can relate to weight gains and
losses. And what that does to your
closet. What do you do with clothes that
are too big or too small? I find myself boxing up clothing to donate and
then digging through it later wondering why I put that article inside. Then I
don’t send the box off and instead try to stash it somewhere to go through one
more time, later. This has served me
well a few times when I had a sudden shift in weight again. I’m tired of bins and clothing that only
partially fits!
Now I have a new challenge besides just finding the correct
size in all these clothes, the stoma and ostomy bag. It is very true that you can continue to wear
regular clothing after having an ostomy.
You don’t need to buy a whole bunch of special products or go to
specialty shops. You will make some
adjustments but really, it isn’t hard.
Everyone finds the things that suit them best.
We woman have pants with waistlines that range from just
under the ribcage to barely covering the butt.
Somewhere in there is a place that is comfortable with a stoma. For me, it’s just around my hipbones, right
below my stoma. I’ve tried still
wearing pants with a waistline above my stoma but it just isn’t
comfortable. If the waist hits on my
stoma, forget it. I feel like I am
choking. Silly, but that is how it feels
to me. So I have pants that I know I am not going to wear because they
are no longer comfortable with my stoma.
But some of them are brand new and really cute! And what if I need something a little bit
dressier? I have to get over it and
donate them or give them away.
Since I am wearing my ostomy bag on the outside of my pants,
I want the top longer. I’ve found some
cute spaghetti strap tanks to add under shorter tops and sweaters. I still have so many sizes though!
And, just how long is it appropriate to keep a sweater
anyway? Why should I wear something that
hangs off of me? Do I keep it in case
medications make me gain weight yet again?
Or, do I just bite the bullet and clean out this closet and keep only
what fits and I know I will wear?
I went to the store the other day wearing a cute pair of
skinny jeans that actually fit me and boots. I have a butt again. I was hiding the muffin top I have developed
lately eating white stuff. I caught a
couple people checking me out. Instead
of being offended, it felt sort of good.
I made a vow then to clean out this closet that is overflowing with
clothes in so many sizes, with clothes that I might or might not wear.
I’ve decided to keep a couple sizes but not in my
closet. I will put them in a bin again
and put them away. It won’t be
everything, just the clothes that I will actually wear in that size. Everything else is going into a bag
immediately and to the trunk of the car.
Then I won’t be able to get groceries again until I have dropped them at
the donation center.
I used to hate showing pictures of myself in all the sizes
but here goes. Being healthy is so much
more important to me now!
Sept 2009. Me in the red, at my heaviest after meds, trying to hide . |
April, 2010. A more normal weight and having no idea what was coming. |
Sept, 2011, Just hanging on, hoping a med would work. |
March, 2012. Surgery Day! Skin and Bones and joking that I looked like a poster against meth or crack. |
November, 2012. Looking more like me again but wearing a shirt that is too big. |
Don't I know it.. I'm kind of an expensive jeans whore.. I buy Joe's, Sevens etc... so I don't want to let them go when they don't fit. I have 32s when I am probably a 26 right now. They are folded in a pile in my room driving my Hubs nuts. And giant sweaters too. I've fluctuated so much I expect it so why would I want to re-buy everything. Ugh. Such a horrible cycle.
ReplyDeleteGood thing is that you have still got a lot of wardrobe choices with an ostomy
ReplyDelete