Betsy Ross, I am not: Pt.1, Ripped Seams & Sacrificed Dreams

(I googled 'famous seamstresses' and she was the one name that popped up. She's the one who created the American flag.)

The other day I noticed that Gunnar was wearing his blue sweatpants to school, again. What's up with that, I asked. "Mom, didn't you notice that all my pants are way too short? These are the only ones that don't make me look like a dork!" I asked Ardan if his pants were also too short, and he said the same thing. But how could that be? I just bought the boys like six new pairs of pants each for the new school year, and mom and I had measured and hemmed the bottoms ourselves. Those little brats must have shot up a couple of inches since September! Well, no problem I thought, I have a sewing machine, all I have to do is let out the seams and rehem them. Easy, right?

So I gathered up all their short pants, sorted them into piles, Gunnar's here, Ardan's there, pants that'll need black thread, brown thread, etc. Got out my handy sewing kit, started rooting around for my seam ripper. Arrghh, where is that darn thing! "Um, Mommy?" Lena tapped on my shoulder. "Maybe I accidentally broke it?" Oh, GREAT! Packed up the kids to go to the loonie store, good thing I remembered I also didn't have any bobbins for the sewing machine. $2 for the sewing supplies and $5 for a toy for Lena later, and I was ready to go.

(Of course, shopping for the $5 toy with a three year old is at least a 30 min process, right? Its so hard to decide! Little Lena agonizes over what she can get with her money. Finally, finally, a tiny dolly in a tiny bassinet wins. Hands down, that tiny toy just captured her heart - "so tiny!". Her tiniest one yet! Hahahaha.)

I estimated about five minutes per pair of pants, for ripping out the seams. Uh, yeah. Five minutes? More like five minutes PER STITCH. I soon realized that using black thread on black sweatpant material, when each stitch is about a millimeter in length is absolutely retarded! (Sorry for using the r-word mom.) I had to jab myself with the extremely sharp seamripper right underneath my nails about four times before I figured out to point the ripper away from me. Fantasies of ripping open the seams with my bare hands, ala old school Hulk Hogan with the shirt, kept me sane as the hours passed, with me hunched over, straining to see the microscopic stitches. Woe be to any man or child who even THOUGHT to say "I'm hungry" or "When are you going to be done?" It took me three days to rip those GD seams out, 20 minutes here while the baby plays with toys, an hour or so while the kids nap.

It killed me to give up that precious hour I get every day (some times 2 hours!) from around 2:30-4, when both Lena and Ryder are napping and the boys are still at school. If I'm lucky I grab a quick nap, sometimes I blog, rarely I clean (lol). No, that hour is me-time. ;)

But it was all worth it when I finished the last one and gazed triumphant over the heap of pants. Ha HAH pants, I won! Now, to start hemming...