Apparently I wear retro jeans, do you? Do you know it? Are you sure?

Every fall, an amazing and much anticipated event takes place in my little corner of the world...the _____ ____ Childrens Academy Rummage Sale! Although they call it an Academy, it is actually a preschool..the kind you call while you are in labor to put your child's name on their list...the kind that costs more per month than many people spend on their mortgage...the kind I didn't even consider sending Sam too....

"Amazing stuff" doesn't even begin to describe the treasures that can be found (by us common folk...people actually line up and wait for them to cut the rope at 9:00 and then RUN in to try to get dibs on the best stuff....think running of the bulls or Filene's Basement Wedding Dress Sale) Do you love the bedding and curtains in the Pottery Barn catalogue? These people get new stuff every year and donate their "old" stuff to the sale. Do you mind carrying last falls hottest designer handbag? If you do, don't come...If your baby needs new duds, among the Gap and Gymboree, you will find oodles of boutique stuff with the tags still on, Baby Lulu, Catimini, Cakewalk and Mini Boden were among my finds this year.

So yes, it's a great yard sale, but it's not actually what I wanted to write about. Something happened to me there. An eye opening, life changing moment....

While I was pillaging through a pile of jeans I came across a cute pair from the Gap that looked like a favorite pair THAT I ALREADY HAVE. They were in great shape, but a peek inside revealed that they were a size 4 and therefore not coming home with me.

A few minutes later a couple of college aged girls (they were wearing sweatshirts from a college that is just up the road, so I am pretty certain of their age) picked up the jeans and started laughing. Hard.

"Oh my gosh, look at these jeans! They are so retro!" (I got the impression that "retro" wasn't a good thing...)

"Those are hilarious! They look just like the jeans that I wore in middle school!"

I quickly did the math and realized that if these girls were 18 then middle school was five or six years ago...I thought about the last time that I went out and bought jeans (other than post baby, fat jeans from Target) for myself...Hmm....yup, that would have been five or six years ago...you know, before I had kids..back when I had lots of disposable time and income for myself....

I thought about saying something clever, but I couldn't think of anything. I was too upset (not really). I know that I am not a fashionista....Most days, I wear a mommy uniform...yoga pants, cotton t shirts, flip flops, sneakers or ugly but very comfortable Dansko clogs. I KNOW THAT THESE THINGS ARE NOT STYLISH, and I thought that I knew which things in my closet probably needed to go, but apparently, I don't. I had no idea that my jeans are laughably unfashionable, none at all. How many other things in my closet fit into that same category? That's the part that botheres me. I'm actually okay with the fact that I don't have the same clothes as the cool kids...it's the not knowing part. I think I'm still cool, and I'm not! Actually, I'm okay with that too...It's more what it represents...

I'm scared. It's happened. I've become my mother, and your mother and their mothers. I don't know what's cool. I have no idea. I also have no idea when 2001 became retro. What does that make 1992 (the year I graduated from high school)? Antique? I'm going to go listen to some Arrested Developmen and fold my retro jeans. Tomorrow I might go shopping for a Halloween sweater...you know something with pumpkins and witches and maybe some sparkle! Cool!

Although I was unaware of it when I wrote this post, Lipstick to Crayons is sponsoring a Back to Beauty giveaway and I do believe that this post can be considered a "Frumpy Mommy Story"!