Being a woman and a mother, she knew what it was to sacrifice her own wants and needs for those of her family. She worked when she didn’t want to work. She quit show business when she was in her prime to care for her husband and children. She didn’t even get her teeth cleaned when everyone else got the work they needed done including braces.
After the flood, she didn’t have any clothes to wear. She wore the same four outfits to work on alternate days. Some of the kids in her fifth grade class figured out the mathematical pattern.
- If it’s Monday then it’s the blue paisley dress with the full skirt.
- If it’s Tuesday, then it’s the grey and white striped a-line dress with the puffed sleeves.
- If it’s Wednesday, it’s the black jumper with the blue plaid blouse.
- If it’s Thursday, it’s the purple rayon shift.
- Fridays were casual, so she wore a pair of knit black pants and a blue and white striped big shirt.
She had a pair of black flats that she wore everyday, and a large grey sweater that had to suffice as a coat on the colder winter days. She could see how having uniforms would be beneficial. If they instituted uniforms, she promised the kids that she would wear one too.
As the months wore on, she was able to get herself a couple more outfits. She was determined to dress professionally. She took what money she had to a popular clothing store to scope out the possibilities. She didn’t think she would be able to keep up with one friend of hers who actually had “costumes” for each season and never wore the same outfit twice in one year:
- Fall colors for skirts and sweaters with pearls and amber
- Winter boots and plaid wool skirts in green, red, and white… Festive!
- Spring pastels and shirt dresses with complimentary jewelry to match.
When she got on her feet financially, she made every effort to have a completely new wardrobe every six months. She remembered the story her auntie used to tell her about the girl with a hundred dresses. No one believed her since she wore the same ragged dress to school everyday. But in reality she was a princess who had a hundred dresses to wear at any given moment.
She wanted to be like that girl and have a hundred dresses to choose from. Over the years she accumulated many more than that. Towards the end of her life when professional dress was not required, she culled out her closet and spared only the most useful outfits.
She figured that life in retirement would probably be close to casual Fridays, so she only saved about a half dozen dresses. Pretty soon, all she would need is a drawer full of nighties and underwear. But in her mind while waiting for the end, she was a princess with a hundred dresses to choose from.
