Hardwood Floors

Chapter 1 - hardwood floors

You often hear the adage that it's easy for weight to sneak up on you. How can it be that one day it's absent and the next it's seemingly there in an instant? The reason you hear this with regularity is because there is a great deal of truth to it and those who've been on the receiving end of this phenomenon can tell you it reveals itself in the most embarrassing of ways at times. I believe it's deception comes from the individuals dismissal that it's actually occurring, an apathy to it that they can address later or flat out denial of its existence. I found myself in this very predicament some time ago.
Since I was 16 years old I had essentially been the same size, that is, the same height, build and most certainly weight. I had always hovered around the 145 pound mark and would fluctuate, give or take five lbs, depending on the season or particular state of affairs. I hardly ever bought any new clothes because quite simply, there was no reason to with everything always fitting the same and feeling no need to see something fresh on me. I was a tidy and trim size 30 in pants and routinely wore shirts that were either a small or medium depending on the brand. It was a simple exercise for me when purchasing new clothes and could be so secure in my sizing there wasn't even a reason for me to try them on.
When I first began to gain weight it wasn't an all out onslaught of shoveling food into my mouth and a very conscientious choice to eat as much as I could throughout the day whilst piling on the most pounds I could. It started out with a more relaxed approach to food, enjoying myself and a reduction in the amount of strenuous activity I was taking part in. It was a slow process then with a pound showing up here and a pound showing up there but it never being so drastic as to set off alarms or have red lights flashing. That moment though, is precisely what I'm writing about today.
I knew my body had begin to change but it was so subtle it was almost negligible and paid little mind to it other than to casually enjoy the small difference in moments of privacy where I could make myself fully aware that my body was a little less leaner. Besides that there was little change to any other facet of my life and that went for my clothing as well. There was a period after these preliminary stages where I found myself having a great deal of free time and was able to spend most of my days lazing about in my apartment. It was summer time and was taking only two college classes that required very little of my energy as well as a part time job that paid well enough I only was working 15-20 hours per week. For whatever reason I became a bit of a recluse that summer spending a lot of time to myself, having no set schedule sleep wise and entered into a constant cycle of waking, eating then lounging. This might not sound like the best of times but I was very content with it and it began to show in my waistline how much I was enjoying the lack of production asked of me.
My apartment was not the most well furnished of places at this time but was fine with it being single and having no compulsion to impress anyone else. The bare necessities was all I had or wanted, a TV, somewhere to sit and a place I could set my things. One of the aforementioned places to sit was very inexpensive and poorly thought out design for a chair that I had purchased from IKEA. I say poorly designed because it sat lower than it should and sort of turned up where your legs were supposed to rest. Despite its lack of comfort, I would still sit in it often basically because well, it was there. One morning, just like any other, I had gotten up and dressed to run around the corner for some coffee and a bit of breakfast. Being that I was going somewhere of no real consequence I dressed in a pair of tan cargo shorts (size 30), a basic t-shirt, socks and shoes. It was a very typical breakfast for me this day and hardly excessive in having a cappuccino with a cheese danish because well, I LOVE cheese danishes!
Upon my return I had decided I'd sit down and relax in the said uncomfortable chair for some early morning TV and maybe browse the internet a little. Approaching the chair I got into the usual crouched position necessary to get into its low posture and as I sank down it happened. I sat for a second bewildered and in disbelief of what I'd just done but soon received confirmation of it. I had just popped the button off of my shorts. You could have inserted any of the terms from old Batman comics when he punches the bad guy to describe what I'd just done, POW, BLAM, KAPOW as it flew right off the clothing I was wearing. My apartment at the time was covered in nothing but hardwood floors and had not a single foot of carpet inside it, this is what gave me confirmation of what I'd just done. I could hear the button strike the floor and then proceed to slide across it for several feet. Sitting there with my mouth agape I scanned the floor to find the button some distance away from me and then the acknowledgment sank in that my pants were completely loose around my waist and my added girth was free. My first thought actually went to damning myself for ruining a perfectly good pair of shorts but soon after was replaced by others. Oh my gosh I'm gaining weight, a size 30 doesn't fit me anymore, this is what all of my overindulging has done to me. Then the wonderful feelings in the knowledge that I was actively gaining weight washed over me. I was embarrassed but happy, I was still fairly slender but now on the road to becoming something other than that and at that moment was hooked on becoming the feedee I eventually would be. This was the first incident of several clothing malfunctions I would encounter on my weight gain journey and while they can be quite humiliating, can look back and savor each one as a moment that helped shape me into the person I am now.