So THIS Happened...

You know when you love an article of clothing, and you follow the cleaning instructions closely to take really good care of it so you can continue to wear it for years to come? But then for a reason that can't be identified, following the cleaning instructions closely to take really good care of it goes array, and just like that the article of clothing you loved now fits your five-year-old daughter instead of you?

Yep, that happened to me.

I loved my orange and gray striped sweater. I washed it, per the instructions on the label, in cold water on the gentle cycle in the washing machine and never dried it. And after each washing it came out looking like new, until that one time it didn't.

Flattering pic, I know.

That one time it came out looking like a sweater that belonged to Hallie, or maybe even a sweater that belonged to one of Hallie's dolls.

Tom and I stretched it out just enough for me to get it on, hoping that by wearing the damp sweater I could ease it back in the direction of my size. Ha.

It took both of us to pull the sweater over my head and jam my arms into the sleeves. Once I had the sweater on, it was so tight that I could not put my arms down. They stuck out like scarecrow arms and stayed there without me exerting even an ounce of effort. I looked like that little boy in A Christmas Story, except where he was immobilized by his winter snowsuit, I was immobilized by my shrunken sweater.

And then it took both of us to get me back out of the sweater after my attempt to stretch it out failed.

It just goes to show that sometimes, following the instructions doesn't work out for the best...

On the plus side, at least I won't need any sweaters for the next seven or so months…the 90's have arrived in Texas!