Sweaters

This was an older blog of mine posted a few years back, but it's been a favorite for a while, so here it is for my Blogger account. Enjoy.

Sweaters: By Olivia Williams

In all my life I think the band Weezer had it right in the song about the sweater. Basically that the sweater is the feelings this person once had, and if you want to forget or "destroy" the past, maybe you have to let go of the sweater.

Living in New York, you get used to cramped spaces, and so over time you will probably toss a sweater or two, in my case maybe five or more. Except I don't toss anything, it's Salvation Army, or my friends… Okay the point? Basically that people have a hard time getting rid of old clothes, because of all the memories weaved into the treads. Looking through old pictures, with friends from college, high school, or elsewhere, I realized, I got rid of some of these sweaters!? FAVORITE SWEATERS!!! But that one of the reasons I had held onto the damn thing for maybe four or six years past it's prime was because of a memory, or special time in my life spent wearing the sweater. And while the sweater looked good then, over time the sweater (or sweaters) just don't fit the same, or flatter you any longer, they get faded, or get those disgusting pill balls (which can only be removed by hours of carefully trimming them off with scissors… sigh). Or perhaps it was a sweater from a lover, or friend, and it never looked good to begin with, but you still held on, maybe even wore it a couple of times on a lonely rainy night watching a bad lifetime movie that seemed good at the time, and even brought tears to your eyes, because in all honesty you were holding on to an old smelly sweater!

But all joking aside, there is something sad about letting go, and while often I wish I hadn't gotten rid of some of those old sweaters, I know I had to then, and will have to in the future, because that is life. We are woven together, but sometimes we just don't fit together anymore. But sometimes if you are lucky, you may just find that old sweater at the Salvation Army, and buy it back so you can remember one last time.