I picked up the pink, wool sweater and put it on top of my pile of clothes on the bathroom counter. There! Ready for tomorrow! I thought, satisfied to have that annoying nightly chore done.
I turned to head toward bed and my book, when something caught my eye.
Wait…what’s that? Is that a hole?
I turned back and picked up the sweater. Sure enough, there was a hole, front and center. A few forlorn threads lay broken and unraveled, circling a glaringly empty space. No chance of hiding this one. Or was there? I pulled two of the largest threads together, trying to knot them up and hide the damage, but there wasn’t quite enough slack. I tugged again, turning the fabric this way and that. Finally, after a few more attempts, I gave up. I looked down at the sweater and its now-a-bit-larger hole. Maybe…Could I just…? No, I told myself firmly, there is no way you can get away with that.
Sighing, I walked over to the closet and pulled an alternative sweater off the shelf. Hmmmm….it looked a bit…off. The sweater was supposed to be soft and slightly fuzzy, but this garment looked a bit more than that, not pilly, but maybe a bit too much like the llama or whatever creature had donated the original fibers. I took it back to the bathroom, grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped strategically, removing some longer bits and pieces. Then, I held it up before me and gave it a quick glance. That’s better, I thought. I put it down on the pile and headed off to bed, well satisfied, once again, to have that task done.
At the end of the next day, as I walked my class back from Library, the student next to me spoke up.
“Mrs. Hogan?”
“Yes?”
“Is your sweater made of ….” she hesitated, tentatively touched my arm, then continued, “…cat?”
“Cat?!” I exclaimed.
“Well,” she said, “it’s sort of all fuzzy and…” she gestured vaguely at it, waving her hands. “Well, I just thought maybe it was made of cat fur…” She trailed off, looking a bit uncertain.
“Um, no,” I responded, unsure whether to laugh or cringe, but certainly not wanting her to feel bad. “I’m not sure what it is, but it’s definitely not cat.” I looked down, seeing my sweater with new eyes. I lifted my arm to look closer at the fuzzy threads. Cat!?!
We walked the rest of the way back to class. Every so often the student gave my arm a sidelong glance and a discrete pat. I’m not sure she was buying my denial.
Tonight I’ll try to bring a more critical eye to the task of garment selection. And this sweater? Well, I definitely won’t be wearing it to school again!
Nix the comfort zone 
Kids have no filter. That is so funny! Cat? I thought maybe you were going to lean into that because my cat sleeps under my sweaters in my closet, so many of them are sprinkled with white cat hair.
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I’d like to be able to blame my cats, but I’m pretty sure this sweater is past its sell-by date! lol
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LOL, I got a kick out of your slice, Molly. I absolutely love this exchange “Is your sweater made of ….” she hesitated, tentatively touched my arm, then continued, “…cat?”
“Cat?!” I exclaimed.
“Well,” she said, “it’s sort of all fuzzy and…” she gestured vaguely at it, waving her hands. “Well, I just thought maybe it was made of cat fur…” She trailed off, looking a bit uncertain.
“Um, no,” I responded, unsure whether to laugh or cringe, but certainly not wanting her to feel bad. “I’m not sure what it is, but it’s definitely not cat.” I looked down, seeing my sweater with new eyes. I lifted my arm to look closer at the fuzzy threads. Cat!?!” And then how she pats your arm. LOL!
I have pulled threads together through the inside of a sweater and tied a knot, too, but it worked.
Thank you for sharing your funny slice. It’s just what I needed.
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Thanks, Gail! I’m still smiling every time I think about it.
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Like a lot of other commenters, I have cat fur all over whatever I’m wearing from Tigress, who is sitting on the desk giving me the get-off-the-computer-I need loving,-NOW-look! 🙂
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Oh my!
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As one whose entire wardrobe is infused with cat, I don’t see why you would be so hesitant in identifying the source of your sweater’s fuzziness née furriness. 🙂
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I’d have been happy to blame the cats, but I think the source of this sweater’s fuzziness was less feline and more the ravages of time.
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Oh, how funny! Maybe not with little kids, but with high schoolers I would have so pulled a leg about the special breed of cat that had been a distant relative’s beloved pet that they could not part with, second only to Hemingway cats in America, and had a sweater made out of and passed it on to me when they died…..oh, what fun! I needed this laugh. Cat. I will be chuckling about this for days.
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Now that would have made a great slice! lol
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Ha! Such a sweet student. The pitying pat. Thanks for the chuckle 🙂
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I’m not sure it was pitying or more like petting!
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You made me able to picture you and your student walking down the hall, each of you with a weird uncertainty! I also want to note how your inclusion of physical acts really added; the student waving their hands, then giving you little pats—too funny!
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Thanks for the specific feedback–that was a section I revised a bit, so I’m so glad to know it worked!
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I admire how you set this moment up with the thoughtful selection of not one but two sweaters only to discover that a child thinks it’s a cat! On a more personal level, I also appreciate that you pick out clothes the night before! Thanks for sharing and making me smile!
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I’m happy to share the smile. I wonder how many people choose clothes the night before. I just can’t begin to deal with it in the morning, especially because I’m out the door way before my husband even stirs from bed.
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So funny! I’m retired now but I remember well the challenge of picking clothes to wear to school day after day. And discovering too late that there’s a malfunction with the outfit.
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The struggle is real! I think one of the things I most enjoy about break is not picking clothes out.
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I just laughed out loud reading this. My 9 year old wanted to know what I was laughing about so I read her your slice. Thanks for giving us both a good laugh tonight!
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Oh, I love thinking of you both laughing over my slice together! Thanks so much for sharing that and ending my day on a high note.
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Kids notice everything. I wonder if one writing prompt for second graders would be have them just sit quietly for two minutes (possible?) and see what they notice. They could also include what they have noticed that morning at home or going to school. They make a list and write two sentences about it. Sharing will not be hard, I’m guessing. It’s a reminder what they think and notice is important in their own education.
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Second graders are a constant dose of wonderful in this crazy world! 🙂
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After cutting off bits and pieces of string, I was expecting the student to say your sweater had ‘a bunch’ of tiny holes (and not the mere 1 hole your first sweater had)…I was not expecting cat hair…still laughing. Great story! 🙂
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Glad you got a laugh out of it. Clearly I need to be more discriminating about my wardrobe– It wasn’t actually cat hair, it was just a sad, shaggy, overworn sweater, past its “sell by” date!
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