We all have them. Some of us have a bazillion of them. T-shirts. Wadded up in the drawer or at the bottom of your closet or shoved up on a shelf. I think it must be some sort of American thing to reward people with t-shirts. I have to say I blogged recently about how music can transport you to another place or time. It can remind you of someone or someplace. It can make you cry and laugh and sing out loud. It engages your sense of sound to the point that it creates a feeling. Well…I realized today that a simple t-shirt can do exactly the same.

I have sooo many t-shirts. There’s ones I bought on trips to remember the trip by. There’s shirts from my kid’s sports teams I wore to support them at games. There’s a few new ones from Beachbody I’m super proud of because I EARNED them by completing a workout program. I even had so many sorority t-shirts in college that my grandmother made a quilt out of them for me. I adore & treasure this quilt. Not just because each and every t-shirt reminds me of a particular party (well the ones I can remember geez I was 21 & stupid but whatever), but also my Nanny who took the time with her own hands to piece my quilt together for me.

I have a VERY old Dallas Cowboys t-shirt of my Dad’s. It’s more than 20 years old I know. I wear it for luck during games. SHUT UP PEOPLE IT WILL WORK EVENTUALLY. My very favorite t-shirt I have is my Dad’s black Harley shirt pictured below. It says “Sturgis 1989” on the back. He got it 25 years ago on his first ride to Sturgis on his first Harley motorcycle.

What made me think of this t-shirt thing in the first place was Maddie’s request this morning. She asked where her “Sydney shirts” were. We have a few t-shirts in honor and memory of Maddie’s friend who’s battle we still fight. Stupid dumb ass cancer. She thinks about her a lot and I think that in a weird way the shirts are comforting. Just as when I wear mine I think of my Dad.

Music is auditory. It touches & stimulates that sense of hearing. Maybe all these silly t-shirts we all keep are a tactile comfort. Another sense that gets comforted or jolted in a certain way. As my kids join soccer and football and cheer and student council and speech team and whatever else I’m sure my t-shirt collection will grow. I may be a t-shirt hoarder but I think it’s ok. Maybe I’m just a “memory hoarder”