Embassy Suites – pillow fort door sign (Photo credit: pagetx)
Yesterday I had what my dad calls a ‘down day’; a day where your physical and mental pain prevent you from doing much of anything. Some days I need to build a cave out of blankets, pillows and kitties and call it a day. My goal right now is to not let myself have more than one down day in a row. One of the ways I do that is to really embrace my down days when they occur. To that end, I present to you my patented down day wardrobe©. Most people think anxiety and depression only affect the mind, but the truth is there are a whole host of nasty physical symptoms that can crop up. In my case, the more stressed I get, the more sensitive my skin becomes. I can get red marks, cuts and even bruises for no reason at all. That is why on my down days I have to wear my most comfortable clothes.
As you would expect, I spend the day in my pyjamas. I’m not big on fancy pjs and most of my nighttime wardrobe is made up of Old Navy stuff. Their cotton and flannel pants go on sale after each season and it’s difficult to be sad with little penguins or sheep dancing across my bum. I also like that their tops don’t have tags. They just print the information onto the back of the shirt instead.
Layering is key so that I can add more fabric when I’m cold or take something off if I’m too warm. I layer a tank with a long sleeve shirt. I can also add a soft robe, sweater or hoodie as needed. I prefer to go barefoot whenever possible but when it’s cold, chenille socks are a must. Here I forego Old Navy in favour of Hue, (Old Navy is cheaper but you get what you pay for; since I don’t want them to fall apart on the first wash, I splurge).
Lastly, I employ my weapon against the loneliness of staying home with only the cats for company: the cupcake pillow! It’s soft and squishy and smells faintly like vanilla. My mom got this for me for Christmas. I’m glad that I can still gleefully receive gifts like this in my thirties! Thusly attired, I revel in my do-nothing day so I can return to work refreshed the next day.
Sounds good! I have a collection of great T-shirts my sister has given me over birthdays and Christmases over the years (Celtic and Nature patterns on different greens and dusty blue-greys) from a company that has nice quality ones. I pair them with fleece warm-up pants. In addition to depression issues I also have issues with diabetic induced nerve pain and sensitivity and my nerves can be so sensitive to pressure… I do plan on ordering some scrubs from Sears. Duckies, Polar bears, and Penguins aren’t my style and I would like pocketses for my precious — or in case I should run into Gollum somewhere in my darkened abode. They are also something I could wear to go outside to the front of the house for the mail… or even to the corner store perhaps… well maybe… I hear people wear scrubs out? I’m on a disability income for now… unless I can make a go of writing.
I have plans on some non-fiction books and people keep telling me I “have” to write and just how good I can be at explaining things… It seems the half of my relatives that aren’t in farming or nursing are in education. I think I there number about a handful of principals or ex-principals on one side of the family alone… Perhaps having patience to explain things just is familiar to me in both senses of the word to me. (You should hear what I can say about story telling, but that is actually a story in itself.)
Ta ta!
I think you can absolutely wear scrubs outside. I see people doing it all the time. If I have to venture out on a down day I opt for yoga pants. They’re very comfy and they make me look like I’m busily running an errand or two before heading to the gym. Great camouflague.
If there’s one thing educators know how to do, it’s explain and re-explain things to people. Sounds like you have that same talent and eye for detail. Let me know how the book plans are going. Publishing something is an exciting prospect!