Something that has been useful to know, that I’d like to pass on for anyone else who is in my shoes:
UK lingerie stores sell stockings and they sell hold-ups. Stockings are thigh-highs without any kind of elastic in them, so you WILL need something to keep them in place. What I know as a garter belt is called suspenders in the UK. They also seem to be bigger on just plain old around-the-leg garters like we buy only for special occasions like weddings.
Hold-ups are stockings with elastic in the band and are more like what you’d buy in the states almost always.
This has been a public service announcement.
Fact: To convert an american bra size to a UK bra size, you just increase the cup size one letter. US size 32C is UK size 32D.
Clothing sizes also get bigger (UK6= UK8), while shoes get smaller (US7 = UK5).
So by moving, I essentially sound like I am slightly fatter, with smaller feet and bigger breasts. I think I’m ok with that.
The item americans commonly know as a ‘garter belt’ is known as ‘suspenders’ in the UK.
My mom got me this on a tshirt today, and made me cry.
I have a penchant for clothing with positive messages printed on it. I remember a couple of years ago, looking around for Christmas gifts for my young nieces, feeling frustrated that everything I saw said something bratty on it, like <i>talk to the hand</i> and <i>spoiled rotten</i>. I love sarcasm and ball-busting more than a lot of people I know, but there is something inherently wrong to me about literally carrying a bad vibe around with you all day long AND sharing it with others, even in something so small as text on fabric. My favorite t-shirt is from American Eagle and says <i>The world is pretty amazing.</i> I’d rather have people think about that all day than something evil.
I see a lot of people post about how today is (was) a good day to reach out to the people you love, and while that’s true, I wanted to add that today, and every day, is a good day to reach out to the people who love you. It’s a small but important difference, and if we all did it, we’d all be happier.
I have been thinking a lot the last few days about how lucky I am. There was a moment the other night when I was sitting in front of the fire at my sister’s house with one of the babies in my lap, all cozied up in her pink jammies, content to rock with me for a few while I talked with my sisters, and I just thought that my family is pretty amazing. None of us is extraordinarily successful. We are all uneducated and work lousy jobs that argue over sick days. We drive old cars, and are uncomfortable in situations that require two different forks in a place setting. We smoke, swear and gossip about one another. Our garages are a disaster. We are average people… but we are an extraordinary family. There isn’t a single person in my entire extended family who wouldn’t come to my rescue if I needed them, and the same goes in return. Driving two hours out of our way to locate my cranky brother and help him Christmas shop at 7pm on Christmas Eve is exactly the kind of thing we specialize in. We are experts at looking out for one another.
When I think about getting married and essentially starting a new life in another country, I don’t get scared, really, but I do often wonder how on earth I will teach my own family how to do this, without the example of everyone who came before me. When my kids grow up and don’t see this in action in so many familial relationships on a daily basis, how can I show them that this is the most important thing? Can you teach family to a child if you don’t have any around you? I think that’s the only thing I worry about, really. Maybe the best way to think of it is that I will have the opportunity to show my own family that you can still be a family no matter how far away you are. We’re just turning it up a notch, is all. We’re expanding the family trade into overseas territory.
I have much love in my life.
Much, much, much.
I’m so glad you stick around to hear about it.
