repairs

This week I noticed the hem on a pair of my shorts had come loose + frayed. As I bent down to pick up my shoes on the way out the door, my partner noticed my underwear peeking through a gash in the back of my jeans. The same day, as he put his shorts, he noticed that the crotch was torn out. 

Two weeks ago, I thought maybe I had gum on the bottom of my shoe + found that the tread had cracked + peeled away under the ball of my foot. This morning my partner noticed that the coffee press plunger was broken (again). 

This seemed like an odd pile up of things needing repair and attention all at once. I started thinking about faulty materials and design decisions...and while there may be some of that at play...in almost all of these cases, wear and tear is the main culprit. The jeans + shoes have been worn every day for a year and a half. His shorts were worn daily for most of the warmer days of the past year.

We didn't experience as much wear + tear in our wardrobes when we had more clothing. Things didn't get worn as often when we had more choice. When things did need repair, it was easier to let them go because we were probably tired of them + we had other things to wear instead. 

Today I mended my shorts + put them on to wear for the day. The jeans + his shorts are mended well enough to wear after work...and duct tape has held my shoes together well enough to wear for the past two weeks. 

I see all of this as part of my experiments with what is enough. I do like seeing my things through this part of their life span. It's a chance to push through some conventional thinking + see reality...to reimagine + experiment in different ways...to live into connection with people + planet...to shift + grow.
 
Love,
Jane