One of the most dreaded kinds of shopping women do on a regular basis, no matter whether in the US or Holland or anywhere else, ranking right up there with jeans and swimsuits is bra shopping. For years I have favored one style that has worked. However, time changes everything, and that includes the containment apparatus under our blouses. Sure, it could be weight gain, it could also be attaining a certain age. I refuse to blame myself. Nope, it’s just a function of life. I’m just going to put those thoughts out of mind and move on. Yay for a new style bra!
To my surprise, what I found was really quite cozy and fit well. It was a dramatic change to what I saw in the mirror once dressed again. Almost enough to make me uncomfortable wearing it for fear people would notice. But I was so comfortable finally, and geez, “the girls” looked good! I’ve seen and been envious of other women in my age group who must have similar fitting fortresses under their clothes, so why can’t I?
Once home, I texted a good friend that I would see on Monday. I explained the situation, saying that my boobs looked nearly 18 again, and suggested that if by chance she should notice when she saw me, would she please tell me if the change went just too far. There was an immediate text back, “Where did you find this miracle?” I gave her the details, explaining that I didn’t actually think my new bra was that pretty, but it did a really good job. Again, she texted me back, “I’d wear duct tape if it lifts and separates the girls!” Isn’t this so often the case? So many of us are unhappy with our current undergarment situation, but we’re afraid of changing size, or any dramatic change.
Everything changes. My shoe size has gone up a whole number since my early adult life. Willem and I recently had a discussion about the comparison between US and Dutch shoe sizes, because he insisted that my otherwise “dainty feet” (his words, not mine) could not possibly be a 40 in Holland. Yeah, go figure, I didn’t inherit all of my attributes from my mother. Her shoe size would have been a Dutch 35.
* Alice is a Maine realtor and a licensed helicopter and fixed wing pilot. She first met her Dutch husband in Maryland in 2005, and married him four years later.
