blue_jumpsuit tender_square yesterday, my sister-in-law handed me the garment in a ziploc bag, preserving mom's scent nearly two years after she was gone. breathing it in brought back saltwater and sand, sunshine and her smile. in my mind, i recalled her jumpsuit being cobalt or lapis, with cap sleeves. it was an effortlessly sheik royal blue, sleeveless with ruched shoulders. removing it from the entombed clear casing felt a little like sacrilege. the ghostly traces of her antiperspirant still marked the armholes. the rest of mom's wardrobe had been given away to an organization that helped clothe women for business; my sister-in-law's frame was too petite to take any of mom's garments for regular wear. but volunteers from the cancer hospital sewed stuffed bears for her and my husband and their brother with clothing their mother had worn. this morning, i tried the jumpsuit on for the first time. i hoped it would be usable; i didn't want the piece to become an article of clothing that i couldn't wear and held onto out of guilt because i couldn't bring myself to donate it after it had been specifically saved for me and was a part of her. i worried it would be constructed from materials that made it difficult to alter if i needed to. mom had a bigger bust than i did; i feared i'd be swimming in stretched-out fabric. surprisingly, the jumpsuit fit my body perfectly and flattered at every angle. it's mostly made of polyester with a bit of spandex, but it feels like water and cascades from every curve. on one side of the elasticized waist there are two pieces of flapping fabric to make it appear that the deep v-neck bust is wrapped and tied. the lower half is culottes, a wide-leg cut that hits mid-calf. my mother-in-law must've bought it from anthony's, a women's department store based in florida, while she was living there. when i searched the tag ("tiani b."), that's the result that came up. it's an inexpensive brand that specializes in effortless beachwear, which makes me love the jumpsuit all the more. if it had been a designer something or other, i would have been nervous; there would never be an occasion good enough to warrant its use. before i left michigan, i packed a simple red t-shirt dress in my suitcase—mom's favourite colour—to wear for her beachfront memorial at dawn this weekend. but now i may decide to honour her by donning the beautiful jumpsuit she so loved instead. 220510 ... raze i have no memory of seeing her wear it, but my mother's mother had one of these. when i was still learning what language was, i started calling her blue grandma. it probably came out sounding more like boo gamma. pretty soon everyone was calling her that. and i mean everyone. every grandchild and third cousin twice removed started taking credit for inventing the moniker themselves when they knew it was a lie. would you believe i'm still salty about that all these years later? it might not have been the most inventive moment of my life, but i_swear_to_god i got there first. not that it matters now. 241116 what's it to you? who go blather from