Lovely Awkward: A Year of Wine, Romance and Life Among the French

Lovely Awkward: A Year of Wine, Romance and Life Among the French

Tuesday 15 December 2009

The secret adventures of hand-me-downs

Right now, I'm in love with the new adventures old clothes can find.

Here's why:

This past Canada Day, I met up with two of my close female friends for a drink. We were all on the verge of living in the same neighbourhood in Ottawa's Sandy Hill, which was cool and exciting, but we were also all having dreams of living somewhere else. While visitors ran around the capital with painted faces and Canadian flags, we sat in the sun and chatted, as we normally do, about where we were going in the world and where we'd like to be if we could leave the town where we all grew up.

One friend said school in Victoria. The other said school in Hawaii. And I said living in the France (Then, thinking that the south of France was full of farming communities and not even thinking about the sea. I had also only chosen France because I don't speak Italian.)

This fall, my "destiny" was fulfilled as a fluke. I stumbled into love with a man who happened to already live in the lovely, romantic place that I'd mentioned. But the other girls really found their destinies (although, I'm not sure I like that word) all on their own. They're leap required even more bravery than mine, in some ways.

Earlier today, I went over to see one of those friends to help her peel the magnetic poetry off of her fridge. She's moving to Hawaii this month (and I'm not always the most helpful packer). The other friend is just finishing her first semester in Victoria.

I find this convergence of leaps hilarious. At first, I thought we should be shipping a pair of jeans back and forth like the girls in the book The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. But now, I've realized we already have something better. We've been saying our goodbyes to each other in hand-me-downs and clothes we don't want to pack or put into storage. Tonight, I made off with a dress and several shirts, which will now make their first trip to France.

I think this must be one of the best (and cheapest) ways to take your friends with you.

So, in the interest of trying to create a discussion (which I'm still new at... and might need help to do): Where would you like to take your friends' hand-me-downs?

3 comments:

  1. Definitely Dublin, Ireland...

    - Carmen

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  2. I sort of thought that if I didn't go to France, I might like to try Brazil. But there are so many places I've never seen...

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  3. I just began reading your blog...I love it! I would have to say that I would take the hand-me-downs to Italy, a place I've visited many times but never had the courage to settle there.

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