I used to dress nicely

-or- rough and tumble Sundays

Published on December 19, 2004 By BlueDev In Misc

I would never claim to be the paragon of men's fashion. Even when I was a teenager and fashion is such a must to establish social status, I just went with what I felt comfortable wearing. But I have often taken care with how I dress when I am dressing up.

I like looking sharp when I am wearing nice clothes. On Sundays, going to church, I usually wore either a nice suit and wingtips, or wingtips, slacks and one of my nice, 3 button sport coats. I have a good collection of ties that I can mix and match to maximize my wardrobe. I didn't try to do it to show off, and I never went to the most expensive stores for what I wore, but I tried to look nice.

Now I just try to keep my shirt tucked in.

Church now involves more wrestling with children than wrestling with the Spirit. The first hour is spent keeping our two little ones sufficiently happy that both my wife and I can stay in the meeting, and at least one of us can really take something home from the messages that are shared. And while our oldest is really an amazingly reverent, calm 5 year old, the little one is an almost 2 year old bundle of emotion and energy. So I let her climb on me, I hold her, we cuddle, we poke and just about anything else that will keep her happy and still quiet.

Then I spend the next two hours teaching my 7 year old class. Three boys, one girl, and the boys keep me on my toes. Most of the time they do pretty well, but the energy level is often off the charts (as was the case today). We have fun, have our lessons, and try to learn something. But we still have to wrestle a little to keep things calm and happy.

So no more sport coats, no more nice slacks. Now the standard attire is a $12 pair of WalMart khakis, a $9 short sleeve dress shirt, and a $5 cotton tie. I don't look quite as nice as I used to, but I have traded my nice clothes for serviceable, daddy/teacher attire.

And as much as I enjoy dressing nice, I enjoy the current conditions a bit more.

Comments

Danny Bassette

on Dec 19, 2004

Practicality all the way

Hamster 311

on Dec 19, 2004

I'd say you have your priorities in order.

dynamaso

on Dec 20, 2004

Ah, the follies of fatherhood. I had a conversation with a friend some years ago about this very subject. We were in a successful indie band when he had his first son. He was a sharp, if eclectically styled dresser. After becoming a Dad, his style went pear-shaped and he never regained his sartorial elegance. His excuse (not that he needed one) was durability - he needed clothes that could be pulled at, vomited on, have food and other solids rubbed into them, stain proof and practical. He said he also needed clothing he didn't need to think about, just something he could grab and pull on and know he could answer the door in without getting weird looks.

Cheers,

Maso

BlueDev

on Dec 20, 2004

Danny: Ain't that the truth.

Hamster: I hope so. Thanks.

Maso:

he needed clothes that could be pulled at, vomited on, have food and other solids rubbed into them, stain proof and practical.

That is the ticket right there. Someone pukes on my pants or shirt, toss 'em in the washer. No worries about dry cleaning, and if I wear through the knees from rug burn no worries. I still break out the nice clothes every once in a while, when the kids won't be involved. But it is akin to what I used to wear when I was growing up, thr roughest, toughest clothes my mom could find. Ah, the circle is complete.

dynamaso

on Dec 20, 2004

Yup, the old 'what goes around, comes around'. My mother used to say something when she was annoyed at me when I was a child. It was along the lines of 'You know, your kids will be just like you and then you'll know what I went through'. I don't have any children and aren't planning on any in the future, so maybe I've escaped that particular ring of hell.

Angloesque

on Dec 22, 2004

You shop at Wal-Mart? I'm going to have to reconsider our e-friendship. Grr.

-A.

(tangent: Don't you hate it when someone only picks up on a tiny bit of your article and misses the entire point? People like that make me sick!)

-A2.

BlueDev

on Dec 22, 2004

You shop at Wal-Mart? I'm going to have to reconsider our e-friendship. Grr.

Err, um, no, what gave you that idea?

Okay, yes, I do. Target and Wal-Mart are probably the two most common places we shop. I will admit, I am lazy and cheap, and since it is the closest place and the cheapest. . .well, you get the idea.

But that doesn't make me a bad person does it?

oleteach

on Dec 22, 2004

You made a grand trade that will pay off big in the long haul. Good Post!

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!