They're not really even flannel, anymore. They're just a soft and cozy cotton and although I strive to get dressed every single morning, there have been many a day on weekends, or when I'm working at home, that despite my best intentions, I've stayed in these pajamas as the sun rises and then sets again.
More recently I've begun to notice that the pajamas are starting to get pretty thin. But I've kept wearing them and I don't know what precisely happened, because I never noticed the hole nor heard the tear, but one morning, the entire backside was split wide open. As in, there was at least a 12-inch gaping hole that traversed the seam. The children, with their eagle eyes, noticed it first, when I was bending down to pull out our griddle to make scrambled eggs and someone said, "Um, Mom? What happened to your pants?" I didn't comprehend what they were talking about so didn't pay much attention to the question until Charlie hollered, "OH MY GOSH! JEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR PANTS?!" So I looked over my shoulder to investigate and that's when I noticed that my hiney was completely hanging out. Oh. So that's where the draft is coming from?
It saddened me to take those pajama bottoms off and throw them in the trash. But I knew they'd had a good run, and rather than reduce them to cut up pieces of dust cloths, I'd retire them with dignity to the trashcan and retain my memories of how comfy they once were. While I mourned, my husband was thrilled to see them go.
It read (in essence): To Mom: I know how much you love these pants so I sewed them hope you like them. Love, Liz.
Then I opened the package. Inside were my tattered pajamas that my daughter had extracted from the trash. She found some thread, and a needle, and went about the task of stitching up my pair of PJ bottoms. That my sweet little girl dug my decade old ripped and worn pajamas out of the garbage and lovingly stitched up the tailgate for me, and then gift wrapped them as a surprise, has got to be the sweetest act of kindness I've ever experienced. This is really such a GREAT example of the awesomeness that children can bring to life, when they're focused on exerting their energy in to love, and not say, arguments with their little brother.
Unfortunately for Charlie, I can never throw these pajamas out, now.
