"The" RATTY Gray Sweater...

I think... no... I'm pretty sure I KNOW that I have an unnaturally freakish attachment to THIS sweater... it's "known" in this house as "Mom's ratty gray sweater"... nothing fancy really (it was actually a Christmas present that SAT in a closet for about 5 years before I even wore it!)... just a lightweight wool blend sweater that has started losing it's buttons and has a small hole starting under one armpit... but can I tell you... I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT... LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! ANTIME of the the day... AND even night... I may be seen in this sweater... SPRING, SUMMER, WINTER, FALL... doesn't matter... if I'm chilly... feeling tense (I KNOW... THAT is the freakish aspect)... I will don my ratty gray sweater... and I INSTANTLY feel warmer/less tense (DARE I say CALM???)... I have even been known to anxiously watch the dryer timer on washday... like a child waiting for their favorite blanket... counting the minutes until my beloved sweater is "mine" again (smelling all fresh and clean)... I think it's pretty hilarious (and maybe pathetic in a hilarious kinda way too)... if I've been so achey that I have to lay on the couch for a bit... Lilley-Kate will appear and cover me with my sweater saying "Here Mommy, Your sweater will help your bones feel better"... if it's late into the evening and my husband presents me with my nightly cup of green tea... he may also have MY SWEATER draped over his arm... KNOWING that my tea ALWAYS tastes better when I'm wearing my sweater... I've never understood parents who INSIST on taking/weening their CHILDREN from a "favorite thing"... soft doll... stuffed animal... old receiving blanket... favorite shirt/dress/nightgown... because SECRETLY (ok... maybe not so secretly) I KNOW what it is like... to have someTHING "special" that makes most everything "better"... it's my "soft doll", "stuffed animal", old receiving blanket, favorite shirt/dress/nightgown... it is MY RATTY GRAY SWEATER...

An interesting NOTE... ONE of my MOST FAVORITE things was given to me by two of my LEAST FAVORITE people... go figure!