So Many Dishes

When I read this question, I had to laugh, since it seemed that whoever wrote the question was trying to mock me. I have been teased about being on a shopping spree the past few months. My friends aren’t exactly wrong. After my surgery in January, the surgeon found Ken in the waiting room and said, “your wife’s stomach is flat now.” That’s what happens when they drain two gallons of fluid out of a cyst. (For any new subscribers who are interested in the whole story, you can read about it in Mystery Soup, my post about both my surgery and hospital food). So many of my clothes were suddenly too big; I donated literally bags of stuff. So, yes, I’ve bought some new things. I’ve also been “shopping in my closet,” wearing clothes I haven’t worn in years.

The oldest things I’m wearing, though, aren’t clothes. They are my engagement and wedding rings. I’ve worn my engagement ring for more than 55 years, and my wedding band for more than 54. They’re both part of me. I’m rarely without them. I had to remove them before the surgery, and as soon as I was back in my hospital room, I asked Ken for the rings, so that I could put them back on. I’m not me without them.

Suddenly, the “old skirt” that I’m planning to wear tomorrow for the first time in maybe 10 years doesn’t seem so old at all!