Clothes That Fit

This week I cleaned out Sabi's drawers and closet. I took out all of the clothing that was too small and took inventory of what she would need for the summer. Due to the fact that she grows like a weed, I had a HUGE stack of clothing to get rid of. Two big bags full to be exact.

I usually give my clothing to Goodwill. With Sabi's clothes, I like to give them to friends of hers or to my students. This time I decided to give them to one of my students. Now Sabi is a 5th grader and I teach 2nd graders. Sabi is also a very tall girl. That being said, I have one student who is very stocky who I thought might be able to use the clothing. I was actually afraid the clothing might be too small but I thought I would give it a shot anyway.

The girl I wanted to give the clothing to, N, never wears clothing that fits. As I mentioned, she is stocky and short. There is nothing her size in the girls department. Everything she wears is at least 10 times too small. The waist is always very low, exposing her backside and her tummy hangs over everything. The poor thing looks like her clothes are painted on sometimes. This being said, I have never met a child so happy with themselves and with such a great self image.

The clothes I wanted to give away were girls plus clothes. (Did you know they make those?) They have been a blessing for Sabi. She is so tall and is cursed with my hips and smaller waist. The problem with the plus size pants for Sabi is that the waist/tummy section is too big. They fit in the hips though so I make them fit on her by tucking them in on the sides and make her use a belt. It isn't perfect, but it is comfy! I was hoping that these clothes would be a good match for N. I knew that she had never had anything fit her before and hopefully, these would not be too tight for her.

I gave the clothes to N on Tuesday. On Wednesday, she came to school in one of the shorts I gave her. She told me that the clothes were too big for her but that she could grow into them. She was pleased as punch to have them on and told everyone that I gave them to her. I watched her walk around the room to see how they fit. They were a perfect fit! I talked to her about the clothes and she told me again how they were too big. It was then that I realized that she doesn't know what a perfect fit is. She is so used to being hugged and squeezed into tight clothing that she doesn't know the difference! Poor baby! She is all of 7 years old and thinks that is how clothing is supposed to fit.

N wore more of the hand me downs for the remainder of the week. She was happy to be in them and I was happy to see her happy. Other teachers told me that something was different with N, that she looked different but they weren't sure what it was. I just smiled.

I am glad Sabi's clothes went to a good home.