HEART ON MY SLEEVE

I must admit as much as I like to write, sometimes the ideas don't always flow as easily as other times. There are times that I write and draw from life experiences and others when I write from more general perspectives. A fellow blogger and a great friend of mine and I often times discuss our creativity or the lack thereof (the down times when we can't quite get our creative energy to flow).

Suddenly, a tiny light bulb goes off over my head like in a Saturday morning cartoon. I have an idea and then my mind starts churning as the "post" gestates. I will not reveal my process, but I am sure that all serious writers have one. I know that I do. The "post" has been gestating for awhile and now it is time to translate what is in my head onto paper.

Have you ever read Ann Brashares "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series? It's really not a teeny-bopper book like most of you think it is. It reaches all ages. I really like the whole idea behind it. It was written with so much heart. If you haven't read the book, then you have no idea what I am talking about. So let me clue you in. Basically, the characters of the book consist of four girls Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen who have been friends since birth. The plot is that the girls find themselves going off in different directions over the summer: Greece, Mexico, South Carolina, and one gets left behind taking on a summer job. Before leaving, these girls go shopping to spend some time together. They find a pair of jeans in a thrift shop that magically fits all of them as differently portioned as they are. They decide to make a pact and some rules that the jeans will be shipped back and forth between them so that they will feel closer to each other even though miles and miles maybe separating them. Unexpectedly, the jeans give these girls comfort and courage. It is a little far fetched, but the idea is very appealing that a pair of thrift store pants can hold magic and memories within them.

Another inspiration for this post, came from none other than my favorite television show "One Tree Hill", the hit series on the WB. There was a very sweet scene between Haley and Nathan, a teenaged married couple. She was wearing what seemed to be an ordinary choclate brown tunic shirt, a pair of boot cut denim jeans, and a pair of boots; however, this clothing wasn't something out of the ordinary for her husband Nathan. The dialogue between them was something like this: Nathan said to Haley: "Those jeans are the jeans that you wore that day that we fell asleep in the park. Those shoes are the shoes that you wore that day we spent five hours at the DMV waiting to get your license with your new last name".Haley to Nathan: "What else do you remember?" Nathan to Haley: " I remember a lot more than you think. You wore that shirt sitting on the sofa one morning playing a Beattles song on your guitar. The sunlight came in and framed your face so perfectly". Sigh. Pardon me while I swoon. It was a little unrealistic that Nathan remembered those things, but it made for one sweet scene between the formerly estranged married couple. His memories helped bring them one step closer to each other.

Who knew that clothing could have such power over our emotions? One of my fondest memories of my childhood best friend who continues to be my best friend to this day is when we were teenagers living in the same neighborhood and once or twice a week or maybe even more we would call each other up on the phone and tell the other what piece of clothing we wanted to borrow. "Meet me half way", we would say. We would take off running through this grassy field in the dark to exchange clothes. Looking back, part of the clothes swapping probably had to do with us feeling close to each other subsciously because we did attend different schools and our schedules were very different. Some of the best times, that I remember in my life happened while wearing some piece of my best friend's wardrobe. I can't believe that at the end of next month, my best friend since I have known for almost fifteen years is going to have a baby. I can only hope that her little girl will find a great friendship like I have with her mother. As a teenager, she just might be meeting her best friend half way to share clothes.

There are some articles of clothing that I can't bare to part with because they hold such sentimental value. I have a snake skinned leather jacket that I have had for years that I can't get rid of because I wore that jacket on a very special date with a very special guy. That jacket evokes so many memories. There is a certain black and hot pink top and a chocolate brown lacey top that I am not going to part with anytime soon because I was wearing them on some dates with a guy that I met recently.

How many of you girls have parted with your prom dress or cheerleading uniform? How many of you guys have gotten rid of your football jersey, your favorite baseball cap, or your letterman's jacket? Chances are that you haven't because these pieces of clothing mean something to you and have wrapped up in them days gone by that you never want to forget. The sweetest days that will help you get through some of the bitter ones.

Yes, I am very sentimental. I have never pretended not to be. I cry often. I think about the past every so often. I am a thinker and I am very introspective. I wear certain colors to evoke different moods. There are clothes that I don't wear anymore, but can't get rid of because they are reminders of the best times in my life. They remind me of a simpler time before life got so incredibly complicated. Or is it us that cause the complications? I cherish some aspects of my clothing like a tourist treasures souvenirs. It is that important to me to maintain some semblance of who I used to be. You have to know who you used to be, to determine who you are today, and to achieve who you want to be in the future. You could call me sentimental. Just like I enjoying listening to certain music because it evokes certain emotions, and just like I go through picture albums to remind me of good times, I like to go through my closet and take a trip down memory lane. At the end of the day, when it is just me alone with my thoughts, I am just a girl who wears her heart on her sleeve.