Whole new wardrobe

"Nice suit," my coworker remarked yesterday. "Ann Taylor?"

Her comment stopped me short. I couldn't remember the origin of the dark jacket and slacks. All I knew was it came from my great new place for fall and winter clothes -- the spare closet in my daughter's old bedroom. That's where I had moved clothing last fall that I could no longer fit into because of the growing tumor in my abdomen.

Later in the day I checked the label and saw my colleague's guess had been correct. Then I remembered the wonderful day of shopping I had enjoyed with my sister in August 2008 during a trip with our husbands to Las Vegas. We had perused great stores up one side of the Strip and back down, including two different Ann Taylors. But as the weather grew cooler last year and I started eying the purchases I had made for my fall and winter wardrobe, I could not zip or button the wool suit that had fit perfectly in August.

I remember the sadness I felt last year while moving my unwearable clothes -- some of them brand new -- out of sight to the spare closet. The memory makes it all the sweeter now to move those clothes back where they belong.