Ten years ago I used to dread the onset of holidays because they had to be preceded by the dreaded clothes shopping trips. In those days both Jackie and myself tipped the scales at well over 20 stones and finding nice clothes that fit was a nightmare. After visiting the fourth or fifth shop where nothing was big enough, in the right colours or stylish we would often adjourn to a cafe and stuff ourselves with cream cakes or other comfort food.
Compare this to our visit to the Nike shop last week. Jackie headed for the Ladies section but on her way she spotted a lovely blue tracksuit. She picked one up and went to try it on and called me from the fitting room to see what I thought. Too big - I was sent back to the rail to find a smaller one. It was then I noticed that the suit was in the children's section and the size that was too big was 13 to 15 yrs. I found one that was 12 to 13 yrs and that proved to be a perfect fit.
I couldn't help thinking about a picture we have of Jackie feeding some ducks when she was at her biggest. The bright orange T shirt she was wearing was 5xl and I couldn't help thinking about our shopping trips now where we have problems finding things that are small enough in the styles she likes.
Jackie is still in hospital but there are signs that she is begining to improve and get better. There is still a long way to go before she is well enough to come home for good but she has reached the stage where she comes home during the day at weekends which is proving to be a very special time for us as we get to spend some quality time together and Jackie is re-connecting with our home and is able to keep it clean and tidy to help me.
Compare this to our visit to the Nike shop last week. Jackie headed for the Ladies section but on her way she spotted a lovely blue tracksuit. She picked one up and went to try it on and called me from the fitting room to see what I thought. Too big - I was sent back to the rail to find a smaller one. It was then I noticed that the suit was in the children's section and the size that was too big was 13 to 15 yrs. I found one that was 12 to 13 yrs and that proved to be a perfect fit.
I couldn't help thinking about a picture we have of Jackie feeding some ducks when she was at her biggest. The bright orange T shirt she was wearing was 5xl and I couldn't help thinking about our shopping trips now where we have problems finding things that are small enough in the styles she likes.
Jackie is still in hospital but there are signs that she is begining to improve and get better. There is still a long way to go before she is well enough to come home for good but she has reached the stage where she comes home during the day at weekends which is proving to be a very special time for us as we get to spend some quality time together and Jackie is re-connecting with our home and is able to keep it clean and tidy to help me.
