What Size Are You?
What Size Are You?
“A hug is always the right size” – Winnie the Pooh
Mmm hmm it sure is.
noun
size - the relative extent of something; a thing's overall dimensions or magnitude; how big something is.
We humans use the word “size” unfavourably. I think, anyway.
We have given it a negative connotation. For example we can be concerned about the size of debt or should that be the value of debt?
We can be concerned about our physical size which can get really ugly if you look at media and even more so social media. Body shaming is, well, not good in my book. Yet humans do it on a regular basis and for reasons I’m still attempting to fathom.
And then there’s the classic “one size fits all” in certain clothing items, designed to fit a person of any size
Really? My school friend and I decided to put this to the test one time.
Experimentation
She had a health condition which required strong steroid treatment ultimately resulting in weight gain no matter what she did to keep the weight in check. She would often get disheartened especially when there were ugly remarks made toward her.
Never judge a book by its cover. She did what she could about her situation but ultimately the medication she was taking was the cause of her “size”.
She learned to embrace it as much as she could. She didn’t know if her medical situation would change as she got older, she didn’t know if the weight gain would stop as she got older there were so many factors at play.
She had the most amazing bubbly personality despite everything and we stood by each other which, when you consider I am 5 foot 6 inches and she just came it at 4 foot 10 inches we looked odd.
Anyway, back to the clothing
We tried an experiment just for the sheer fun of it. We picked up some items of clothing at a local market. The kind of thing marked up as “one size fits all”. We picked up a sweatshirt, a camisole, harem pants and a sundress.
Sweatshirt – fit me perfectly. Not so for my friend, the arms were too long, the neck line bagged and as for the length – it was LONG on her frame and as she put it “made her look like a sack of potatoes”.
Camisole – my friend had better luck with this one. I am not overly blessed in the boob department whereas my friend was quite the voluptuous one. On me the camisole bagged – big time. The straps kept falling down, it felt loose on my small frame, I could swivel my body inside it which was weird to say the least. On my friend it looked fantastic.
Harem pants – oh geez we were in hysterics with this one. I don’t like them anyway and as I’ve got rather long legs they did seem to actually “fit” if that’s the right word for harem pants. They looked “right” on my lanky body let’s put it that way. On my friend, well, let’s just say the crotch of the pants were nearer the floor they were a trip hazard. After wiping our tears away from gut wrenching laughter we moved on to the sundress.
Sundress – now this had an elasticated bodice so we figured we both might be in with a chance with this one. On me it came to half way down my thigh, which as a lanky teenager with what looked like endless legs I felt a little uncomfortable. Pair it with leggings and I’d be happier. My friend it fit her perfectly needless to say she bagged that one.
Hugs Fit
It was an interesting experiment and the consensus of opinion was no, one size does not fit all and that applies to everything in life.
Except as my friend put it - with the exception of a hug.
“Hugs fit no matter what size you are” she said. She had that right.
And I received the best hug from her 3 years later before she passed away due to her condition. Despite knowing her time was limited as her health rapidly deteriorated she remained as bubbly as ever and I remember her saying to me “never let anyone push you into something that doesn’t fit. Hugs are the only thing that fits, period.”
Wise words.
Winnie the Pooh was her favourite character and I will always remember the hug quote.