Jan 25, 2010

Words and meanings

By Stacy Johnson

Two chapter meetings ago, we had a great lesson on words.  We were asked to find and collect words that we liked and bring them to our next meeting to share.  Karyn brought us a word for the way the dry earth smells right after rain; petrichor.  I have thought about that word a lot since our recent rainstorm.  Kristine had some words I could not pronounce, let alone remember, and Michelle used some of her words in prose form and shared some tender feelings with us.  For me, one word has been on my mind since Christmas.

Housecoat

A housecoat is neither a covering for a house, nor a coat.  It is a women's outer garment, often loose and comfortable, worn at home.  For me, it reminds me of the warmer months we went to school.  Mom would wake us up with her sing-songy voice "Good morning to you, good morning to you" then return up the stairs as quick as she came down.  I would stumble after her for morning scripture study and find her laying on the couch reading the paper...in her housecoat.

The pink and yellow on white plaid number was what my mom wore over her pajamas before she got ready for the day.  It totally reminded me of when I would go have sleepovers at Grams house.  Grams wore one over her pajamas when she would come out of her bedroom before actually going to bed.  She would also wear it in the morning when she would make us breakfast and serve us juice in little tiny juice glasses.

So what to my surprise when I woke up on Christmas morning and after giving the kids the "please be gracious as you open your gifts, just in case you get something you might not be in love with,"  I open one of my gifts to reveal this cute little number:

Yes, that is me in my very own housecoat. 

Please don't get me wrong, this isn't about whether you should or shouldn't wear a housecoat, it is about what a housecoat means to me.  It means I might be getting old and someone in my house thinks I might be getting old too.  Thanks anyway, I'll stick to my pajama pants and t-shirts, just like my teenage daughter wears.

I'm just glad my husband saved the receipt.
I can think of better ways to spend $14.99.

4 comments:

  1. Oh Stacy I've been laughing ever since I saw this. I remember those housecoats. My grandmother was really into them. And I used to think ohhh I get to wear one when I grou up. Only they aren't popular now are they?

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  2. LOOOOOOOVE IT! You could totally bring them back, I think.

    Yes, times have changed, times have changed. If I even uttered the word housecoat my children wouldn't have a clue to what I was talking about.

    What ever happened to my mom's old housecoats?

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  3. ROFLOL!
    Stacy, that is too funny. Yep, I remember my mil wearing a housecoat, but interestingly enough, I don't remember my mom wearing one...oh wait, she had a mumu! Ah Memories! Thanks for the smiles.

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  4. I think you might have been bamboozled into modeling your SWEET housecoat. :)

    I love the memories the gift brought to your mind. Those are worth much more than $14.99.

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