end of an era

yes, i still owe you several big stories of the last three weeks of my life. they've been life changing and i also can confidently claim having changed other people's lives as well during this time. two...three, rather, to be specific.

but, enough of the teasers. you'll just have to be patient as i recover from a cold and from the shocking reality of returning to normal life, which has always been tough for me. though i've noticed that every time it seems to get a bit harder--the bottom gets scraped with a little more force before i'm allowed to start moving upward again cradling new bruises.

when i got back from coachella {and before i got too sick} i was seized with the need to purge, simplify and mobilize my life, and while a full grocery bag has already been disposed of, two items i never though i would say goodbye to are also about to depart.

while i am in recovery {both physical and mental/emotional}, i want to spend a moment to both mourn and celebrate letting go of two iconic pieces of clothing.

the first is this t-shirt given to me by one of my best friends right before i left australia. july 2002. i can still remember the circumstances of me first acquiring a la 'borrowing', and then right before i left townsville for good, he gave it to me outright. i never thought i would part with it but i have to admit the fit is no longer comfortable and/or flattering, and the friendship, though it's one i no longer have much of a sustained connection to, does not need to be clung to via a piece of red fabric and white lettering collecting dust in the closet.

love, i know when/if i see you again it will be as if no time
has passed, but why didn't you tell me you were getting
married? invite me even if i couldn't fly to either
the australia or the sweden weddings? and damnit
at least send me a short email to say your wife is now
pregnant? really. just two lines.
hello. my wife is pregnant. i love you.
okay, i guess that's three. ha, always wanting more.
yep, that's me.

so, there you have it. it's gone from my wardrobe. and good riddance.

stop having second thoughts, nathania.

i kept it back from the original load down to the clothing donation bin in order to photograph it for this entry and so it's dangerously still within keeping/further-dust-collecting distance...must. move. soon.

the next piece i'm rather sad to say goodbye to as it's been a faithful friend since i purchased it the summer of 2005. it's seen a lot of good use and i've been so happy with my brown gap cords {a tan pair i bought at the same time has seen about 1/4 of the use and never had the magic of the brown ones}. oh how they aged so gracefully and kept me feeling long and lean even when i wasn't so much. but, what was an inconvenient but ignorable hole along a seam turned into an 8 inch tear today and i really am mourning their demise.

you can see me here, unloading into my very first home all for myself. november 2008. it was the night after getting the keys and eden and i brought a load over and unpacked for a few minutes before going out for pho back at our ballard spot. what a lovely night. one of many i spent so comfortably clothed in faded brown cords that hugged my hips in just the right spot.



to purging and moving forward!