Feeling Invincible in the Perfect Jeans
In all nineteen years of my life, I daresay I’ve encountered hundreds, maybe even thousands of pairs of jeans. But I have one pair of weathered but beautiful denims, and I love the way they make me feel when I wear them: strong, satisfied, comfortable, invincible. During the five years I’ve had them, they’ve never done me wrong. They’ve always fit. They’re what I’ve always counted on to perfectly complete my outfit. Perfect jeans…everybody wants to own a pair.
But I think everyone already does, everyone has his own perfect pair of jeans, something to make him feel complete, even if they’re not made of denim. I see it everywhere. I see it in my parents.
My father was a lieutenant commander in the Navy, stationed in a small village in the Philippines when he met my mother, who was working at a general store. Something about her made his heart melt, made him feel whole for the first time. When he was with her, he felt like he could face the world and always come out on top. She was what he had been waiting years to find. They fell in love, got married, and have stayed that way for 23 years. Time has tested their relationship, given it character, and my parents still fit together perfectly. I guess my mother was my father’s perfect pair of jeans.
So in a way, perfect jeans can be anything. They’re the tattered and ragged blanky that a little boy won’t give up because it makes him feel safe and makes him stronger than the boogeyman. Perfect jeans are the people who love unconditionally and make this world a more comfortable place to live in because they make others feel accepted and brave enough to face the day. They’re the song that plays on and on through the ages and brings a smile to the faces of young and old, because it reminds them to be happy about who they are.
I believe that all people have something they can count on, something small that will always be there to make things better when they need it. The simple things in life like perfect jeans that are time worn, will always fit, and graciously complete, can be the most empowering. This, I believe.