The things parents say... A musing about underpants.

[flyboy_fox]

I was randomly musing earlier about my younger years, and one particular incident came to mind. Mind you, I really don't know why this particular instance stuck with me for so long...

I must have been seven or eight at the time. My mom had decided I needed some new underpants and vests, as the ones I had were rather faded, although there was nothing wrong with them. They weren't falling apart or anything and they were perfectly clean. So I asked her why I needed new ones, seeing as no one was going to see them (I wasn't the type of kid to run around in my underpants XD). Her adamant reply was that if I ever got into an accident, the paramedics and nurses would be shocked by the state of my underwear. She then went on to say that they'd wonder what kind of child I was, wearing such faded undergarments. I remember, quite clearly, at the time arching a brow and thinking if I was in an accident bad enough to need paramedics and for me to be undressed at the hospital, won't you and the nurses be more worried about things other than the state of my vest/underpants?

For some reason, it just really stuck with me as one of those nonsense things that parents say.

As for me, insatiable as I am with buying Sonic merchandise and nifty gadgets, I am still entirely frugal with my clothes shopping. As long as my clothes are clean and they fit and my outer wear is presentable, I don't feel a need to buy new clothes very often at all. I've always wondered if there's a deep-seated resentment fueling that... Perhaps one day I'll be in an accident and a doctor or nurse will see that my underclothes are perfectly clean but faded and old, and I'll be able to say to my mom "See? They DON'T care". :P

Comments

[shadowdingo.livejournal.com]

Maybe it sticks because it was SO funny? XD

And I do agree, I do think the last thing doctors and nurses would be worried about is the state of your underwear. Rather, what was wrong etc.

And meh... I don't like clothes shopping that much either. I am rather okay with the amount of clothes I have. I really don't want to be one of those girls who owns like 50 pairs of shoes and enough tshirts, skirts etc. to last a lifetime without needing to wash at least one. Seriously, I don't get the big deal. Clothes, yes, we need to wear them for warmth etc., but I don't get why it's needed to own a lot of 'em. I'm fine with just a few pairs of jeans, few tshirts and few shoes.

Okay, wandering off the point, but meh... XD

[twitchytwitch.livejournal.com]

I was told something similar, but more of on why I needed to wear long johns instead of panties, or bloomers at least, in case I had to be rescued by a man (who would otherwise be too shy to rescue me out of fear of seeing my underpants?!)

Then again, that was my religion teacher who is a bit... uptight.

My parents aren't too obsessed with the state of my underwear. xD

[eclective.livejournal.com]

I got told exactly the same thing. XP And yeah, I think people aren't going to care too much about whether your underwear is faded or worn, as long as it's clean. Doctors see much, much worse than the average clean and tidy individual, anyway. They're hardly going to be like, "gasp! These underpants are not brand new!" =P They've seen far more shocking things.

[alycus.livejournal.com]

I agree. Parents may say things that do not make sense in the very slightest. Even when you're 17 years old.

[oshiro-akina.livejournal.com]

Like you said, I think the doctors would be more concerned about what's wrong with you than the state of your underwear.

That reminds me of something I saw on TV once . . . A homeless man was found dead in a lake, and of course he looked dirty and rough. I don't know about his underwear, but I do recall the doctors doing the autopsy and finding that his stomach and insides smelled like mouthwash (they think it smelled that way because the guy might had been an alcoholic and was so desperate for alcohol he was drinking mouthwash).

So yeah, doctors have seen much, much worse than faded underwear.

[leonskennedy827.livejournal.com]

"So Doctor, do we know what's wrong with the paitient?"

"No, but we do know the condition of their underwear!"

"....."

that sums it up right there, XD It probably stuck because it was so damn random, LOL

[moth-wingthane.livejournal.com]

It must be a cultural thing - my folks told me exactly the same and my thought in reply was the same too :D

[teamrodent.livejournal.com]

McGee: It's a plot by the underwear industry to increase sales!

[rainsingingwolf.livejournal.com]

XD I've heard lots of parents say that. This one kid I knew who lived above us got hit by a car. The paramedics we're helping him on his bed, and his mom said "Aren't you glad I made you make your bed this morning?"

[dia-aren-marie.livejournal.com]

Oh lord, my mom is obsessed with making sure my err, undergarments match. XD I always fight back with "WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO BE LOOKING?"

[panicpuppet.livejournal.com]

XD I've heard the same thing from my Mum plenty of times, and I've said EXACTLY what you were thinking to her, but she usually just ignores me by that point. She's still been known to remind me of the fact every now and then, even though I'm quite clearly old enough to remember to change my underwear every day.

I'm the same, though; I'll quite happily shell out hundreds on a Sonic item, or a console an odd time, but when it comes to clothes, I'll look at something, take a quick glance at what I'm wearing, then decide I don't really need it. Half of the time, my Mum just ends up bringing in a few pairs of trousers that she finds in sales, since the only thing I tend to buy on my own are T-Shirts, and even then it's something with Sonic or another characters.

I've got loads of clothes around, and I really don't feel I need anymore. I mean, I can only wear one outfit at a time, as I've told my Mum XD;; As long as they're clean, it doesn't matter how old they are. She keeps saying "People will think you don't have any other clothes," but it doesn't really bother me if they do think that, since I know I've got enough.

Underpants are serious business.

[way-past-cool.livejournal.com]

The motherly obsession with underpants knows no bounds XD my mom is always asking about my underwear and whether I need new ones, and I know she's said things similar to what your mom did, about getting in an accident and people seeing.

It's the same way mom's get about houses being clean when guests come. I understand that obviously you should tidy up so that things are in order and you don't look like a TOTAL slob, but the truth of the matter is, people don't really care. But moms see tidy but obviously "lived in" house and they freak out trying to clean and make it look PERFECT!!! Because obviously the guests you're inviting over will leave and immediately report to the local newspapers that your family lives in shambles and your mom is a slob who should be publicly humiliated then put to death. XD Silliness.

Now I wanna go play that room-clean up stage in Katamari.