Yesterday it rained in NYC. A lot. I don’t know how much exactly, but there were multiple raindrops.
Papa was picking up my son from school and they got soaked on the way back.
I know this because I got a text from my son saying that he and Ddude (short for Dedulya, the Russian affectionate term for grandfather) were soaked. Better you than me, suckers, I thought, sitting all Sahara-like indoors.
And then I got a terrifying text from my kid.
Ddude wants to know where your pants are.
I blinked, but the text still did not disappear.
“Maybe it’s an autocorrect issue and he was asking about plants,” my friend Betsy answered my Facebook lament. It’s like Betsy wasn’t raised by my Papa or something.
Because I, having had the privilege, knew exactly why he was asking.
Papa’s clothes had gotten wet and he wanted to change into my pants.
Let me repeat this: Papa wanted to wear a pair of pants that belong to me. A woman’s pair of pants. And I knew this to a certainly as a daughter whose father worn her clothes before knows.
Don’t get me wrong, Papa is not a cross-dresser. But he is very practical and does not believe in things like “boundaries”. If he needs a pair of pants or a pair of pink crocs, or t-shirt that just so happens to sport a Cindy Sherman “Your Body is a Battleground” silkscreen, why shouldn’t he borrow his daughter’s? And if he can’t find them, what’s wrong with having his grandson send a text to help the process along?
“Unfortunately” I didn’t “see” my son’s text until it was “too late”. And by then, Papa settled on a bathrobe instead. My husband’s, fortunately.
One year ago ...
- Delicious! - 2012
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
My sister and I have a favorite picture of my father, at a Thanksgiving back when we were in college. He was wearing my white, cowlnecked sweater from the Limited! He found it and liked … I think he thought it was one of my four brothers’ sweaters. We never told him, but he wouldn’t have cared if we did. He would have worn it anyway. I’m sharing this post with her … Thanks for the laugh 🙂
My father was no cross-dresser, but then my mother…given the chance!
Twitter: JenAndersonNYC
May 24, 2013 at 9:38 am
Finally! Embarrassing parental behavior that my Dad *doesn’t* engage in.
I hope he didn’t wear it during the subway ride home.
I would personally have loved to click a photo of my dad wearing a floral bathrobe!
My pants would be way too big for my dad. Did I say that out loud on the Internet? Fuck.
Because they do what needs to be done and so be it.
Aside from that, this is my favorite: “I blinked, but the text still did not disappear.” because that’s my MO too.
I love you.
Ha! My husband does this, he’ll throw on my sleep shorts after getting out of the shower or I’ll find him wearing my “Big girls do it better” shirt on Saturday morning. It’s weird and annoying and it makes me unreasonably angry. I have found myself having a 12 year old’s hissy fit complete with , “take that off RIGHT NOW, It’s MINE!”
Twitter: marta28
May 25, 2013 at 11:29 am
My father, luckily, has never worn my clothes before. I did have a college boyfriend who wore my jeans once and I was horrified that we were the same size.
I love every single post where you talk about your parents. You have cool parents, Marinka, which … must be why you are so cool!
Twitter: Mamabirddiaries
May 27, 2013 at 9:16 am
Your husband must love that he and your dad can share clothes.
I’m happy to say that the only thing my father ever borrowed from me was shampoo. Unfortunatly it was a coloring shampoo … and he looked like a badly ageing redhead for a couple of days.
I so enjoy your family.
Pictures. Pictures of Ddude in your pants. That is what this post needs.