I can’t believe it’s 2019! 2018 was a busy year for us – new baby, many travels, and a new house. Moving at Christmas isn’t usually recommended, but we loved spending the holidays enjoying our new place. Someday soon I will write the long and winding story of how we found our new house.

And speaking of long and winding, my husband told me as he unpacked and organized our previously hidden possessions – “You have a lot of scarves!”

I had to agree; I’m a scarf hoarder! I love scarves; I love the different fabrics and textures, soft and fluffy, shimmery and gauzy, woven, knitted, and knotted. Yet I never wear them.

Why not? Well, I usually forget… I’m lucky if I wear hat and gloves on my way out the door. After all, those are what you need to face the Minnesota winter wind. Neck coverage is optional.

Also, I grew up in Texas so I was never immersed in a scarf-wearing culture. When we did experience winter by skiing in Colorado, we wore BUFFs (versatile fabric tubes made famous on Survivor) or these things called “neck gaiters.” These are to scarves what a jumper is to a ball gown.

The third reason I rarely wear scarves is that I still feel great trepidation about my selection – am I wearing the right scarf? Does it match? Do I look affected? How do you tie it, anyway?

Finally, I always associated scarves with turtlenecks, a form of clothing I found uncomfortable and unflattering for me. However, I have discovered that scarves are loose and breathable!

So forget weight loss and self-improvement. I will not hide my scarves under a bushel (or in a deacon bench) any longer! My goal for 2019 is to wear all the scarves!