What I Envisioned

Spot on. My eldest just turned 13 and this happened all of a sudden. My sneakers, any outdoor gear – all now adopted by him! Hopefully he’ll have another growth spurt soon and I’ll get them all back.

My sons love the same football team as their aunt. They are about to crossover in size. I suggested if she gifts ’em the snazzy sports jerseys, I’d ensure they make their way back to her once they are outgrown. win-win, right?

I like to take my overly athletic in-laws’ old marathon sweatshirts and wear them to workout classes, so people think I’m impressively fit! (Not sure if I’m joking…)

I take it as a compliment when teens “borrow” things from your closet.

What I envisioned … sharing clothes with my 13 year old daughter. What actually happened … my 13 year old son “borrowing” my Rothy’s sneakers, Vasque hiking boots, Jcrew denim shirt to name a few!

My son was 6′ tall with sideburns at age 13. I’m not sure he’d even have been carded. So funny to think back, he’s in his 30s now (still the hairiest of his peers, lol).

My husband regularly wears my mother’s college class ring on his pinky, which feels like a plot point from either a heartwarming book-club read or a cautionary Greek tragedy, check back in a few years.

My mom has size 11 feet and great taste and I could not wait to finally have her shoe size. I stopped at a size 10. In pregnancy I hit 10.5. But the 11’s are still just a little too big!

At 33 I still shop in my mom’s closet – one of my best finds was a blue vintage silk lord and taylor maxi skirt that was originally owned by aunt and then my mom. I legitimately get the most compliments on it out of everything in my wardrobe and the skirt is my best friend in the summer – so breezy and light – and dries rapidly. But I guess it now goes both ways, since my mom has taken to ‘borrowing’ my uniqlo bag – I guess what comes around goes around!

I have a 12 year old and an 11 year old and I inherited TWO new pairs of Altra running shoes this summer! But yes, they always steal my hats.

Hi Jo! I wondered if you would be willing to do an interview with someone who emigrated. I know you have Motherhood Around the World which kind of touches on this topic, but I was hoping for something more focused. No worries if not!

we took a very limited amount of shoes with us on a trip to the UK this past spring. (only two pairs each!) And one morning I realized I had hot spots from both of the pairs I brought…and it dawned on me that I could borrow my 11yo son’s! So I happily spent a day in York in black and gold Jordan’s and felt SO COOL. He was less amused. LOL

The hand-me-down game in my neighborhood is strong, so I get to look through huge bags of kids clothes that just get passed around and who knows where they actually started. I snagged a particularly cool boy’s T shirt for myself, with a picture of a monster bowl of ramen (like, with teeth and claws, it’s rad!) and one of my kid’s classmates saw me wearing it and goes, “Hey! That’s my shirt!” The kid won’t make eye contact with me any more, haha. But I still love that shirt!

I guess I’m safe! My daughter and I have opposite tastes.

My oldest daughter wore the same size shoe as I do for about 3 days, when she was 13.
My middle child and I have shared the same shoe size for the last 7 years. Convenient when she needs black flats for a school function. Devastating when my “vintage” (current to my highschool years) Doc Marten’s moved with her to college.

Last summer I was excitedly looking forward to inheriting a pair of Adidas sneakers from one of my kids who was going up approximately a shoe size every two months. I’d planned out cute outfits and everything. But then he gave me the shoes and they were too BIG. So sad. I do manage to snag nice shirts I buy “for the kids” pretty regularly, though.