Day 2 of no shopping in 2018

The weather had been consistently chilly for Florida, averaging around 48 degrees for the third day in a row and rumors of snow in Central Florida were circulating. This stark change from 95 degree days allowed for all kinds of layering options, which is my dream wardrobe, but my 20 pound heavier frame was struggling to find the warm clothing I only donned four days a year and hadn't needed in two years, to keep me warm for the day to come. I grabbed jeans, a long sleeve black shirt, scarf and jacket. Not the most creative combination, but I was limited by the cold and my weight gain.

The kids were home on Christmas break and thankfully, my husband's teaching schedule aligns perfectly with my school-aged kiddos vacations, allowing him to be home as I headed to work. Nothing out of the ordinary happened at work as I attended a staff meeting, scheduled social media posts, created graphics and did a little bookkeeping. The biggest struggle I faced was wrestling with my rarely worn scarf as I moved around in my normal speedy way and found myself ensnared.

I then headed to the exciting part of the day, something that had been on my calendar for a couple of months and I was greatly looking forward to. It was a cast & crew premiere of a the feature length film, "At the End of the Day" that I made a small cameo appearance. Heading straight from work, I coincidentally walked in with the young man who played my son in the film. We snagged this picture as we smiled through the cold wind before heading in.

The film began, my face appeared and faded on the screen while friends cheered and I smiled. And then I settled in to enjoy the work of my friends who have made their dream come true. It was inspiring to watch and see my town so beautifully captured to tell this unique story.

But I became distracted.

As the movie continued, the beautiful historic Polk Theatre had it's heat on while the movie played, but I found myself in this odd space where cold air circulated with the warm. I pulled my scarf around me, thankful I was wearing a very large one, and put my hands between my crossed legs to warm them. That's when I felt it.

I felt my cold icy fingers on my thigh.

I was wearing jeans. How could I feel my skin through jeans? And then I realized what this must mean. There was a hole in the crotch! My jeans that I had owned for 5 years had developed a hole where there shouldn't be one. I was mortified!

Thankfully, I was wearing a gazillion layers and the theatre was dark, but after the congrats were exchanged, I ran to my car and jetted home. I took off my jeans and sure enough, a small hole had developed just from the day-to-day friction of wearing. The area around it was also threadbare and on it's last legs. What a blow!

All of this took place on January 2nd, only 2 days into my year without buying new clothes. The second day of a year long agreement with myself to make due with the massive wardrobe I owned and a staple piece was damaged. It was mildly devastated, because this is my only pair of jeans. While I do own 21 dresses, I only own 4 pairs of pants and only one of those is jeans.

Many of my Instagram followers suggested hosting a swap and some even volunteered to buy a new pair for me. As touched as I am by these offers, I feel like it would diminish the year long fast I am on. So, I going to attempt to patch the jeans from the inside with the help of Google. I'll keep you posted.

Only 360 more days until I can buy another pair of jeans!