When I was growing up, if I woke up tired, grumpy or out of sorts and complained that I didn’t want to get up and go to school, my mom would say, “Well, you better wear a wake up outfit, then, hadn’t you?” A “wake up outfit” was anything with bright, cheery colors or prints, clothes that could make you smile when you look at it. I’m all grown up. My mother is gone, but on a gloomy, grumpy morning, I will still turn to clothing to lift my mood. I put this on as a sort of prophylactic outfit, hoping to stay up for a good portion of my friend Maht’s mahrathon for Heifer International. Of course, my computer did not cooperate, crashing constantly, so all it’s wake up powers went untested.
