When I was 13,

I had some fancy thing I was supposed to go to,

And I didn't have that type of clothes.

My mama put me in some silky pajama pants she had 

That she had never worn,

And a very strange knit shirt with a very strange pattern on it,

The only one we had between us 

That matched the silk pajama pants.

And I went to the event feeling like a fool.

I wouldn't have gone but I was receiving an award for finishing the year with the highest grade average in the class,

And people thought I ought to go.

They took a picture of me with my head looking down and a little to the left,

My lips were in a slight pout,

But they depicted a mere temporary defeat,

For I planned on going straight home 

And taking that get up straight off.

Well, I might leave the pajama pants on 

And go straight to bed.

They were pretty damn comfortable.

I ran across the picture 40 years later and cried.

I saw truly how beautiful I looked that night,

How elegant I looked in that thrown together pant suit.

I see that I still wear that pout,

For I still face thousands of temporary defeats every day of my life, 

And that's just from trying to be a good mom myself.

My mama did good with my makeshift pant suit that night.

She did the best she could,

And I'm starting to think she did a pretty good job with me,

The best anybody could've.

And so from now on, if I have anything fancy 

That I might need to go to,

I'm going to check my pajama drawer first,

And see if I can throw a pant suit together out of there,

Because then, at least when I pout,

I'll be comfy.

-jenn