Ode to Shorts

I've had these shorts for at least ten years. Maybe longer. They've been with me through thick and thin. Literally when I've been both thick and thin. I even bought two of the exact same in white because white, long shorts are hard to come by, and get dirty easily. I also have a tan pair. I remember later in the summer that I bought them, I tried to buy more pair just to have a stash. But they were sold out. That's how rare long shorts were at the time.

A few years ago I sat in something that didn't come out of one pair and they had to go. Now these have a frayed hole in the bum -- they're practically threadbare, or I'd probably try to patch them. Sadly, it's time for them to go. (And in the last couple of years it's been easier to find long shorts.)

I have a policy that when I find long shorts, I buy them, because every few years, long shorts go out of fashion and you can't find them anywhere. Right now they're more readily available. But like I said, who knows what next summer will bring. So I stock up.

Goodbye, long, white, Eddie Bauer shorts. You've been my favorite for years and years and years. Some summers you've squeezed me with gentle encouragement to lose weight. And at other times hung loose. Up and down and up and down. You've been my go-to shorts on days when I took kids to EFY or sports camps so I was comfortably within the bounds of the BYU honor-code and I could walk around campus guilt-free. Over ten summers you were worn day after day, white and then tan and back again and your basic colors matched with everything. Your double-button closure even ensured that when one button popped off, I could still wear you for the day without stopping to immediately repair. You were so good to me. And in return I took great care to wash you carefully to make you last and last. It's been a great ten years. But now your fabric is wearing thin, a hole has appeared -- which is too big now to wear and hope no one will notice like last summer -- and its time to say goodbye. Farewell.