Mom Jeans

Raise your hand if you’ve bought jeans recently. Really, comment with an emoji if you recently went jean shopping.

Except if you’re a guy. Especially if you’re a guy who wears Wranglers. If you’re a guy who wears Wranglers, not only don’t raise your hand but go ahead and put your hand in your pocket. Wranglers haven’t changed in 40 years. If you’re a guy who is a pastor of any type at a hip church, you might want to raise your hand because you’ve probably followed the fads.

I recently went jean shopping. Before I went, I was aware skinny jeans are out and “mom jeans” are in. I wasn’t sure what “mom jeans” were so I did a little research. Read – I called my daughters. They assured me I should get some. When I went into the store the signage was pretty explanatory. My options were jeggings, skinny jeans, straight-legged jeans, boyfriend jeans, girlfriend jeans, bootcut jeans and mom jeans.

I was curious about what mom jeans would look like because I am a mom – who has followed the fads. Would I recognize them and say, “Oh, I used to have a pair JUST like that.” And were they the mom jeans of my 30, 40 or 50 year-old mom self?

When I was a mom in my later 30’s and early 40’s, I was raising three girls and trying to teach them to dress modestly. Those were the days of Britney Spears. And while I am supportive of her plight today (#FreeBritney), during the days when she was responsible for the one-inch zipper jeans and the cropped tops to accompany them, I would’ve throat punched her if I had seen her on the street. JK – I wouldn’t punch anyone and don’t condone violence of any type. But goodness, she made my mom job hard.

Next came the ripped up jeans. I remember asking my girls why I had to pay more for ripped jeans. I never got a good answer but swiped my card for jeans I thought should be thrown out. Oh, and a lot of schools wouldn’t let them be worn in class so we still had to buy new looking jeans – AKA new jeans.

Then there came skinny jeans. And you didn’t have to be skinny to wear skinny jeans. And jeggings came out at the same time for those like me who inherited their grandmother’s thighs and needed a little more flexibility. Thank goodness tunic tops and long sweaters also were popular with that trend.

And what exactly are boyfriend jeans? Baggie jeans? So, we assume our boyfriend’s jeans will be big on us? The guy I dated before I met “LOML” (Love of My Life) only weighed 5 pounds more than me so his jeans probably wouldn’t have been very baggie on me. Whatever.

So let’s get to Mom Jeans. What does that mean? High-waisted? Loose fitting? Comfy? I’m still trying to figure it out. The jeans I’ve worn as a mom for the past 30 years have dared to reveal too much, had lots of rips and tears and been too tight. But I bought a pair of the current trendy Mom Jeans and I must say, I like them.

Maybe the millennial moms raised on Britney and 1-inch zippers, now have baby birthing bodies and are designing clothes for the masses. I can only hope.

If you’ve hung with me this long and are wondering when (and probably how in the world) I’m going to turn this into something spiritual and encouraging, I sort of am too.

Seriously, this story has rolled around in my head since…well, since I went jeans shopping. Now to make it worth your while to have read all about my jean drama. I hope.

I found writing in a pandemic to be really hard. My stories often come from doing the day to day and being around other people. The pandemic has made that hard. Nothing is as it was or should be. I don’t want to write about the hardships. I want to Chuckle in the Chaos (original name of my blog) but the chaos of late has often been too severe to find a way to chuckle. And I don’t want to make light of anything our world has gone through the past year and a half. But…

I know a lot of people around me are feeling worn out and worn down. I am.

I’m sitting on an airplane right now on my way to go see a very wise man who taught me that “if the sun doesn’t come up, we will grab our lanterns and march on.” That man, my Dad, has had his shares of struggles the past 3 years but he is cheerful and always asks how I am doing. He clings to his faith and knows that God is faithful and will see us through no matter what.

For those of you who are tired, frustrated, lonely and just plain burned out. Let’s all get out our lanterns and have them ready. Let’s march on.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said,

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me,

you won’t have to walk in darkness,

because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12

Just like the style of our jeans changes throughout the years, life does too. Many of us don’t work, dine, worship or socialize the way we used to before a nasty virus attacked our society. Lots of changes.

So we adapt. We throw out things that aren’t good for us like jeggings and jeans with one-inch zippers. And we concentrate on the things that are good – family time, an awareness of true priorities, kindness, faith and health.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right,

and pure, and lovely and admirable.

Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8

Thanks for staying with me. I hope you will continue to chuckle with me from time to time. I’m not ignoring the hard things but I’m a firm believer in looking for the good – and God – in all things.

I know that was long. It’ll be shorter next time. I promise.