n i c e h e a r t

Hand-me-up

28 Oct 2007 15 Comments

by niceheart in Autumn, Raising the 3Rs

It’s getting chilly here in Winnipeg.  We’ve already been experiencing below zero C temperatures.  We’ve turned on the heater in the house and we’ve been wearing our thicker jackets.

I don’t really have a good fall weather jacket.  I have this black artificial leather jacket lined with purple taffeta.  I have to wear layers of clothing underneath to keep myself warm.  The other jacket I have is already my heavy winter jacket, which is still too warm for a minus 6 temperature.

My oldest son, Reggie, had this navy blue jacket with a detachable light blue fleece lining, which could also be worn on its own.  This is where the term hand-me-up comes.  I first saw this term in Earth Ember’s post when she wrote about how her second oldest daughter wears her younger brother’s shirts.  Instead of hand-me-downs, the sister is wearing her younger brother’s hand-me-ups.  I don’t even know if that term is already in existence or if Earth Ember just made it up.   She probably did.

Well, anyway, Reggie doesn’t wear that navy blue jacket anymore.  He has outgrown it.  He wore it when he was in sixth grade and, I think, until the seventh grade.  His younger brother, Ryan, doesn’t want to wear it because it is not his style.  He prefers the sporty kind of jackets.

It is I who wears Reggie’s navy blue jacket.  It’s usually the parents or older siblings who pass down their clothing to their children or younger siblings, but I am short and petite and I am sure that all my children will at some point out-grow me.  At least the two older ones already have.

Just look at these runners that we wear now.  I lined them up (nicely just for the sake of this picture) from biggest to smallest.  On one end are my husband’s and on the other end are mine.  My youngest son, Ryland, is still shorter than me and my feet are still bigger than his but his runners are just about as long as mine.

Let’s go back to the navy blue jacket. I like wearing it because it is very appropriate for the fall weather and also early spring after the snow has melted.  I like the feel of the fleece (it’s not the itchy kind) on my skin.  And it keeps me warm.  I wear it when I go for my walks, when I go to the 7-11 store around the corner, when I do my groceries, or run my errands. But when I go to the mall, or to the office, or to church, I wear my black leather jacket.  I went downtown yesterday and it was quite nippy.  How I wished that I wore Reggie’s navy blue jacket.  When you live in a cold city like Winnipeg, you sometimes have to sacrifice looking stylish if you want to feel warm and comfortable.

I was wearing that jacket here in our front yard when I tried to finish raking the leaves which my sister started the previous day.  We are in the final days of autumn here.  Most of the leaves have already fallen on the ground.  Better rake them and clean the yard before the snow falls. 

Raking is one of my least favourite chores.  It used to give me lower back pains.  My husband wouldn’t rake the leaves.  He’d rather do the dishes than do the leaves.  He mows the lawn and shovels the snow.  So I don’t fight him anymore in regards to raking.  I’ve pretty much learned how to choose which battles to fight with him.  The older kids wouldn’t do it either.  I think they don’t want to be embarrassed just in case any of their friends or classmates pass by in front of the house and see them raking the leaves.  There was a time when I could still make them do it, but now they always find an excuse like: I have to do my homework, or I have to practice my instrument, or I have sipon (runny nose) or  a headache, etc, etc.

It’s the younger kids who are eager to help.  So Wednesday night found me and five kids (Ryland and his young cousins) raking our front yard.  I don’t know if you can see them in the pictures.  It was already dark when we finished raking and bagging the leaves.  Actually, I asked them to finish it, as I had supper cooking on the stove.