Coming home late from a Christmas party, I left my gloves in a taxi. The gloves I've had since before I was married, making them over 16 years old. The next day when I discovered the oversight, as I exclaimed about my problem to my family, my sons exchanged sly glances and then darted over to their father and whispered in his ear.
Later that day my 10-year-old said to me, "Don't buy anything, OK, Mom?" "What do you mean--don't buy anything?" I asked. "Just don't buy anything you need or want, OK? Anything for yourself, I mean. For awhile, OK?" I agreed and went to dig out an old gray pair of my husband's gloves to wear for the duration.
The next day on a walk with my 10-year-old, he asked, "What color were the gloves you left in the taxi?" "Black," I said. "Isn't green your favorite color?" he asked. "Yes," I said warily, dismayed over the prospect of green gloves. "Green would be nice for gloves, don't you think?" he continued. "Well, black is nice because it matches everything," I explained. "Hmmmm," he considered. "But besides black, what would be a good color for gloves?" "Well, gray matches most things too. Or tan." Besides gray and tan." "Well, a really deep purple would be nice. These days I like really deep purple for some reason." I was getting desperate. "Or green would be good," he offered. Again.
My new gloves are a lovely electric moss color (which is not an easy shade to achieve, nor to match). They have little fruit-shaped pieces of cashmere sewn onto the backs of the hands in muted but realistic colors, and on one hand there is a cat. The gloves don't have matching designs, but complementary ones, which I never in a million years would have chosen. But I am wierdly enamoured of my new whimsical green gloves. I feel a bit unlike myself wearing them.
Today on the train I saw an obasan (older woman) wearing lime-green suede boots with her tiger-print leggings. "Hmmm...," I thought.
3 comments:
Oh... I felt a little pang when I read you'd lost your favorite gloves-of-many-years...! I do hope they turn up (the taxi company's lost and found, perhaps? Japanese are usually so good about these kinds of things). In the meantime, your new green pair sounds intriguing; you may grow to love them, too.
Here it's not long after midnight on Christmas night. Soon all the holiday lights will lose their mysterious fairy glow and become mere lightbulbs on electric wires. I hope you and your family enjoyed a good Christmas, Jessica. Honestly, I'm glad to be done for the year (except for the lights)!
Hi Mari,
Nice to hear from you! Yes, I am loyal to my clothing. I still have a sweater from junior high school days, and I still wear it. Miss the elegant black gloves (that were warm) but am enjoying the eccentric green ones (not as warm). I took an independent taxi home and didn't get a number or anything, so the gloves are gone...
I miss the Christmas lights living here. We have Luminiere, an Italian-style light show given to us by the Italians after the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
http://www.kobe-luminarie.jp/
You can see the photos. Not the same, but better than nothing.
Hope your new year brings you everything you desire.
And you, Jessica. We will take visitors through Altadena's Christmas Tree Lane tomorrow night. I will look at the link you've posted -- thanks. Be well, and Happy New Year!
Post a Comment