Women will understand

“Holy crap!  I have boobs!”

That was the first thing that came out of my mouth as I tried on one of my new bras tonight. 

I’ve been feeling somewhat down that none of my bras fit anymore.  I felt like everything was sagging and getting smaller; a byproduct of nursing, I guess.  When I was nursing Emily (and Kirstin when she was that little) I loved the way I looked.  My waistline was small, and my breasts were full and round.  I just felt better about my appearance in general.  Some of that wonderful appearance stayed with me after Kirstin was weaned, but now that Emily is weaned, it all went away.  It’s like I’ve been carrying around two saggy half-filled balloons or something.  And they are supported by an expanded waistline.  I haven’t gained weight at all; I just have a tummy that shows my two pregnancies.  So, with the smaller breasts and larger tummy, I needed some retail therapy.

I have no need for nursing bras anymore and I’ve been getting by with one “good” bra and several sports bras for the past three or four months.  In general, I hate shopping for clothes, bras especially.  I can’t find anything that supports the “girls” they way I like.  But then again, I tend to shop at Wal-Mart for underclothing.  I found out tonight a few dollars makes a big difference when shopping for bras.  We went to the mall and shopped at Penney’s for new church shoes for me and new bras.  Matt took the kids and walked around whilst I made my decision.  There was a good buy one get one half off deal going on, so I was pretty excited.  I mean, REALLY excited.  I was finally going to get some support that didn’t just flatten things out and make my waistline really show up!  Yay! 

And I went into this shopping trip prepared.  Matt measured me for the correct size.   The first few that I found and liked only came in larger sizes…Sizes I used to fit, but no longer.  It was turning more difficult than I thought.  I moved to a different rack (hee hee) and found all super small sizes for those women who need a little bit of support, or young ladies who are just starting to bloom can start there and move up later on.  Still nothing in my size.  Then I turned one last time, about to give up, and there they were.  The perfect bras!  Yay!  I got one for just general everyday go about town stuff, and one I got “to make me feel pretty.” 

It’s amazing what some technology can do to cleavage.  I mean, the everyday bra looks good, feels good, and gives all the support I could wish for, while still streamlining the shape.  Then there’s the “pretty” bra.  A little lace and some added features.  It was that bra that caused me to rediscover my boobs.  I mean…Wow.  I love retail therapy! 

Incidentally, my need for shoes came from the pregnancies as well.  My feet just didn’t fit into what I lovingly call my hooker boots anymore.  I love my tall boots that zip up on the side, but cramming my feet into them these past few weeks for church has caused some problems.  My feet started to cramp up as I was walking, my knees started to give trouble again, and it was just an all around unpleasant experience.  So, new shoes were on my list.  I found some, and they are nice, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not my hooker boots.  Oh well, at least now Kirstin won’t hear the term “hooker boots” again.  I won’t have to worry about her using that around the wrong people. 

Oh, and about the job front: I have heard nothing and tomorrow is technically the start date.  I’m going to keep looking for something, though.  I have to keep looking.  My sanity won’t let me stay where I’m at for much longer.  Too much chaos is involved right now.

But something good has come from the chaos.  Matt and I have learned (or reiterated) that bras are not the only support for us.  We have many friends who have helped us through and it’s good to not feel alone when times get tough.