296 – Shrinking

Somebody wanna tell me why they need two ‘M’s? Never understood that.

I’ve had to do an inordinate amount of clothes shopping this year. I don’t normally enjoy it, since it involves, well, shopping. I’m fond of telling my wife that I don’t go shopping, I go buying. But for clothes, you usually don’t have much of a choice. Anyway, when it comes to shopping for clothes because my old ones are too big, I’m willing to make an exception.

Last summer, as I trained for my first half marathon, I discovered that XL t-shirts had become baggy on me. This was underlined when I picked up my packet and shirt for the Air Force Half. I registered early in the year, when XL was still the norm. But by the time the race rolled around in September, the shirt hung off me like a nightgown.

This year, as shorts weather has given way to jeans weather, I’ve found that almost none of my fall clothes fit me any more. I’m down two pants sizes from 2011, and it seems that now I’m down two shirt sizes as well. I have to shop carefully, so I can get medium tops that are long enough in the sleeve, but I’m starting to swim in some of my Large stuff. Never did I imagine myself wearing a medium anything, since I haven’t since High School. But a growing portion of my wardrobe now sports an M where there once was an L, from bike shorts and boxers to t-shirts and sweaters. It’s the sort of thing that can make shopping fun.