Aah, spring. I love it! Cold, snowy days turn into warmer and sunnier ones and trees begin to blossom. In our backyard, bunnies graze and our resident mama quail waddles around, chubby with eggs yet to be laid. It is a time of revival and renewal as the world wakes up from its snowy slumber.
Yes, it’s spring and time to exercise a long-standing tradition in societies worldwide – spring-cleaning. And I’m not talking about the usual donning of rubber gloves or wielding of mops, cleaning every room from top to bottom. No sirree. The only room that gets a thorough revitalization in our house is the most important one - my closet.
Preparation for this personal spring ritual starts months before the first crocuses appear. I’ve spent the last snowy months combing through fashion magazines and determining my new color palette for the upcoming season. A “vision board” was made with photos torn out of the glossy pages of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue and my dog-eared “Color Me Beautiful” book was reviewed to ensure the colors I’ve chosen will make me look – well, like the fashion plate I am known to be. The goal: to attain a closet full of perfect spring ensembles and to accomplish this by purchasing some new items I really want.
There, I’ve said it, I’ve used the four-letter word - “want.” Is this new wardrobe some something I need? Perhaps not. But this is not about need. It doesn’t matter that I might like what I already have or that it still fits, or even if it’s ok to wear again this year. Forget need, this is all about what I desire. I simply want new things to wear this spring.
Which brings me to spring-cleaning. To make room for all these new fashion goodies, a complete de-kluge of my existing wardrobe was necessary. In short order, tops, bottoms, dresses, jackets of every color and hue emerged from the closet, each carefully reviewed with a discerning eye. “Oh, my goodness” I found myself uttering as I found a shocking-pink bomber jacket adorned with silver studs.“I don’t remember buying this! What was I thinking?”
Soon, piles of rarely worn items, some with tags still attached, covered the floor of the closet and spilled into the bedroom. Articles were neatly sorted into stacks labeled “Ooh, love that,” “Still like but …” and “Nope, not-so-much.” The “Ooh, love that!” items were then hung on a portable clothes rack set up in the hallway and judged on a scale of one to ten, ten being “just had to have it and still want to keep it” and one being “love it, but…” A considerable number of remaining items were set aside, intended to endow the wardrobe of another worthy person.
“What in heavens name is going on here! Are you moving out?” asked the love of my life returning home from a round of golf. He really couldn’t miss the stacks of clothing covering the bedroom floor.
“I want a new wardrobe, honey” I calmly replied, certain he would offer his support.
“You want what? Are you kidding? Look at all these clothes! Do you mean to tell me that you need more?” He’s missing the point I thought to myself; he clearly does not understand the difference between “need” and “want.”
A few minutes later after a bit of a heated discussion, he calmed down when I explained the importance of a wardrobe “refresh,” particularly at this time of year. I was still not sure he totally understood when I heard him call out.
“Honey, I’m sorry we argued” he started. “I’m going down to the golf shop to buy a new putter. Did you want to come along with me?” Seeing my quizzical look, he explained “I know I already have a perfectly good putter and don’t really need a new one. But I am now enlightened; it’s what I want. I’ll have it just in time to play in the tournament this weekend.”
Suppressing a laugh, I joined him in the car where he sheepishly extended a peace offering:
“On the way home, let’s stop at the mall and get you a few things for your new spring wardrobe. I’m sure we’ll find you something perfect.”
And that’s the man I love; maybe he understands after all. As the car headed down the driveway, a familiar Rolling Stones tune blared from the car stereo. We burst out laughing and sang along:
“No, you can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well, you might find
You get what you need”
Well, it sure is nice to get what you want sometimes, rather than settle for what you need. Don’t you think that’s what Mick Jagger and the Stones really had in mind?
© 2024 Annie Sokoloff