Clothes are pretty difficult to purchase here–the right size, good quality, styles that appeal. Sometimes I send my family members on quests for needed items, or they’ll send me a fun care package of treasures.
These are always fun to open, but I find the new clothes really difficult to wash that first time. Most of them come from my mom or my sister, Keri, and they always smell just like them. Like their houses, their own clothes, their “smell.”
It nearly brings me to tears, every time I wear something for the first time. It’s like they are right there the whole day. And maybe its like saying goodbye to them when I wash it all with Thai detergent and carry on with “my smell” here…which probably isn’t great, if we’re honest. Some blend of sweat and dirt and a variety of Thai soaps.
I received a package of some new clothes from my mom for my birthday last week, so I’ve been wearing the new treasures, cherishing the smells, and having her walk around with me all week to hospital visits!