Parting is such sweet sorrow...

During my busy weekend of church landscaping and paperwork, I needed a welcome break so I decided to clean out my closet and swap out winter and summer clothes. It's one of my favorite things about spring. Okay, well it is a little bittersweet as I say good-bye to my softest of sweaters and pack them under the bed for several months. But, the great moment is pulling out the tote and remembering my summer t-shirts. Yeah!
I managed to be ruthless in my deliberation of items to go out the door permanently (the benefit is the added space and extra hangers) but it is so very hard to part with some that have a significant memory to them. I seriously wonder if I will actually wear them until rags. (Some might already be there by other's standards.)Does anyone else have this problem? It somewhat confuses me that I struggle with this because I am generally annoyed at having to dress myself. (My mother assures me this dates back to infancy so perhaps I truly have been a rebellious sinner since birth.)
Anyways, maybe I've been in a particularly nostalgic mood lately or something but I thought I'd share some of my closet favs and the reasons why with you dear reader :) Please respond if you relate to my parting dilemmas or also suffer from closet bonding issues.


This is the oldest shirt I still sometimes wear. It was given to me by my first youth group right after I moved to a new town and went on a mission trip with 12+ other people I'd only met the week before. It was a running joke that I was "Abby-No-Gail" since my given name is only Abby. Plus they all got their names air-brushed on the back. What a great momento....


So this shirt was given to me back in the day when I was helping out with the youth at church. I believe I got it the weekend of a lock-in. Wow! Lock-ins are way harder once you are over age 20.


This "lovely" or should I say ragged and splattered T was from a play I was in during high school. We actually performed at Autumn on the Boulevard so we needed some type of outfit to look cohesive. Ironically, we were doing a play about a play; hence, the Romeo and Juliet stage crew motif.


These are my ladybug socks. My very special ladybug socks because they have not just any ladybugs but flying ladybugs. I do believe a good pair of ladybug socks to me is like a good cup of coffee to all you caffeine partakers and can make a bad day enjoyable by merely looking at your happy toes.


This holy rag is my memory shirt that I got from Goodwill to commemorate my senior skip day to Chicago with gal pals in high school. I still can't believe my mom let me do this but it was one of the best days senior year. We went to Planet Hollywood, shopping on Michigan Avenue and listened to music the whole way up and back.


I remember when the roommate first saw this shirt. She was like "What are you doing with a shirt that has a centrifuge?" I explained that I am not a Chemistry grad student like herself who actually knows what a centrifuge device is but rather a lucky chaperone to have attended Centrifuge camp one summer with a bunch of students from church.


Oh yes, the shirt I happily wore today. This is my high road hoodie that I earned after spending 18 days in the wilderness of the U.P. with 9 other girls and only terrain maps from the 1940's. One of the best times of my whole life...



Wow! I can't believe this sweatshirt has held up for so long. I probably created 90% of my undergraduate art projects in this shirt. It's been through many a firing, muddin, and painting session as evidenced by the tattered edges.



This jacket was the last thing my grandfather gave me before he died. We only rooted for one football team in my family...the Cowboys and this jacket says it all.


And, of course, my seminary hoodie! Oh yeah! Good friends, good profs, good learning, and the degree that lead me to Lafayette.


But perhaps the most obvious to all that know me well...."The Boys" attire from back in the day. DC Talk style. What you may not know is that I never bought this shirt at the concert but found it not even 2 weeks later at Goodwill. What a great concert tour. I couldn't convince anyone to take me to the Free At Last concert so Jesus Freak was extra special :)

And now this long blog is officially over and someone is getting voted off on Survivor (and the world goes on). Hope you had a good laugh at my clothing partings....