not so short

The shorts currently in my shorts drawer are a mix of elastic band style and button and zipper khakis and denims. There's a lot of gap in my button shorts lately, and since I'm an anti-social cheapskate and didn't want to go to the store unless I absolutely needed to, I dug out an old pair of shorts from storage to see how they fit.

Just fine, thank you very much.

These are not exactly the same shorts that I wore around the time of my wedding (probably), but they're the same size. They're what's known as Mom jeans (shorts) and I was kind of surprised at just how high up my waist they go. I am typically a modest person, clothes-wise, and the low-rise hip-hug-her style has never really suited me -- I was wearing Mom jeans in high school -- but it's all I've been able to find recently. Yay for the old skool clothes in storage! But I digress.

After I got married, I took a summer job at Blockbuster Video, which kept me busy while my brand new husband was working. The next summer, we decided that the BBV job was unnecessary, and we could afford for me to have the summer off. That was a big mistake, because I did nothing that summer except play video games and get fat.

Why wasn't I spending my time outside? Except as a young child, I have not typically been one to enjoy running around in the sun and the heat. It actually affects me quite badly and I frequently become overheated and dehydrated -- I learned this early and have adopted this "avoid the sun" attitude, which has mostly served me well, especially since moving to the Deep South. It's also why I tend not to join outdoor sports leagues or jog.

I wouldn't say that I accepted the weight without question or complaint, but I never really had the tools to do anything about it. I tried working out last summer (06), but I didn't change my eating habits at all. I changed my eating habits this New Year, and that helped initially, but I hit a long plateau when I felt too busy and stressed to work out, and didn't make time for it. So I see now how the two go hand in hand, and I'll keep striving to eat less, move more.