This is why I can't buy pants.

I was all happy about gaining some hockey weight until I started outgrowing my pants. Shopping, always a favorite hobby - especially when sanctioned by actually needing something rather than just going for a recreational jaunt - has lately been more an exercise in frustration than anything else. On each attempt, I've selected items one size larger than what's in my closet and gone to try them on. Uniformly, they fall to my ankles. Discouraged by the gulf between two sizes and disappointed that I won't be able to justify the pretty new skirt, I'll go get the item in the size I usually wear...just to imagine wearing it. Lo and behold, TOO BIG. The next size down from that, the smallest size in the store, also turns out to be too large. ??? I've gained enough weight and bulk to pop buttons off my waistbands at home, but can't hold up pants a size smaller in the store? At last, official word that I am not psychotic: 0 is the new 8 - The Boston Globe.

There is some satisfaction in being able to order from L.L.Beans and Land's End kids' catalogs, where a shirt in Girls is usually considerably less expensive than the identical shirt in the Womens section. I'm not much for "skorts" though, and it would be nice have a choice of prints other than pastel daisies...