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Allison Larkin

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You are here: Home / life / How hard is it to put on pants?

How hard is it to put on pants?

October 20, 2008 Filed Under: life

On Saturday, my laptop cord broke. It was well past the point of being successfully rigged with electrical tape, so J and I went to the Apple Store to get a new one.

On the way into the mall, we saw a girl wearing pajama pants and a really ratty sweatshirt. Her hair was gathered on top of her head in a scrunchy, and she looked like she’d either just gotten out of bed, or carefully crafted her look so it would look like she’d just gotten out of bed and was even adorable when she wasn’t trying.

“How hard is it to put on real pants?” I whispered to J, because I was feeling crabby and judgmental.

Apparently, it’s very hard, because yesterday, I spent the entire day wearing my pajama pants. I picked all the peppers from my garden, and roasted them on the grill so I could marinate and freeze them. I told myself that I’d just start the grill and then go put on pants, but then I thought that my pajama pants already smelled like grill smoke, and my jeans didn’t, so why should I bother getting dressed?

So, I spent the entire afternoon in the backyard wearing plaid flannel pajama pants, puffy slippers, and a ratty sweatshirt, with my hair in a messy, stubby ponytail. I wasn’t trying, but I wasn’t adorable either. I’m sure my immediate neighbors saw me, but since I regularly take the dog outside in my writing sweater, I figure there’s no point in putting on airs with them.

Also, on Friday, I picked the last of the viable tomatoes and pulled every freaking tomato plant out of the ground. It was so damn satisfying.

Today, I am wearing pants.

9 Comments

Comments

  1. Stefanie says

    October 21, 2008 at 2:26 am

    I see nothing whatsoever wrong with wearing pajama pants all day on a Sunday (provided, of course, that you don’t leave the property). I routinely see teenage girls in pajama pants walking to school when I’m on my way to work, however, and THAT I just don’t get.

    Reply
  2. Howling Hill says

    October 21, 2008 at 1:02 pm

    I get dressed as NOT often as I can. Why make laundry when I don’t have to?

    Reply
  3. Wendy says

    October 21, 2008 at 11:45 pm

    Glad you’re wearing pants today. Better than none at all. LOL!
    I read in the newspaper that there is a city somewhere in China where the people always go out in silk pajamas. This is because the pajamas are made so much better than their clothes. The whole town (more likely a town than a city)wears their “best” pajamas in public.

    Reply
  4. The Modern Gal says

    October 22, 2008 at 4:03 pm

    I think there’s a certain radius around your own home where not putting on pants is acceptable. I’m not sure what that radius is, but I know it includes your garden, wherever your newspaper lands, your mailbox and any spot you take the dog to do his business. It does not, however, include the mall, regardless of how close the mall is to your house.

    Reply
  5. equa yona(Big Bear) says

    October 23, 2008 at 12:01 am

    Hmm, first, I am sure that you were adorable. Second I have often wondered whether jammy pants in public are less modest than short shorts, or more slovenly than sweat pants or fashionably shredded jeans. The slatternly look you describe is not one I would choose for bopping around the mall(for myself or my daughter) But then, I’m a guy so what do I know?

    Reply
  6. Melissa says

    October 23, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    I’m wearing pajama pants right now. I’ll probably be wearing them all day. And tomorrow I’ll wear a new pair.

    ~Cozy’ness~
    Melissa

    Reply
  7. Courtney says

    October 24, 2008 at 12:50 am

    I find myself caring less and less what I look like as I leave the house nowadays. But I’d still never wear pajama pants and a ratty sweatshirt to the mall. When I’m at home, though, I’ll wear them all the live-long day.

    Reply
  8. Mickey says

    October 29, 2008 at 2:13 am

    Pants!

    Reply

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  1. אתר ליווי says:
    April 2, 2023 at 2:53 pm

    אתר ליווי

    How hard is it to put on pants?

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Allison Larkin

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Internationally bestselling author of three novels as Allie Larkin and THE PEOPLE WE KEEP. Look for HOME OF THE AMERICAN CIRCUS @gallerybooks May 2025

“Larkin abandons the typical story arc in favor “Larkin abandons the typical story arc in favor of a more naturally flowing up-and-down journey that basks in beautiful moments like a slice-of-life story. Whether it’s banter at the bar Freya’s working or a leaking roof that is simply one more thing than she can possibly handle right now, the characters and their experiences are so real and pure that their joys and sorrows are amplified tenfold.” 

So honored by this AP review of Home of the American Circus! 

https://apnews.com/article/home-american-circus-allison-larkin-book-review-79ea3d1fdb69ef16232a8dfb7d148ad6

#homeoftheamericancircus #booksbooksbooks
I’ve seen a bunch of references to Home of the A I’ve seen a bunch of references to Home of the American Circus as my second novel. It’s actually my 5th! Before The People We Keep, under the name Allie Larkin, I wrote three books: Stay, Why Can’t I Be You, and Swimming for Sunlight. Here they are in their various editions with some of their translations! (And @justjuliawhelan also narrated Stay and Why Can’t I Be You, if you’d like to listen!)

Fun fact: That gorgeous dog on the hardcover of Stay was actually our dog Argo, and I took that photo of him when @duttonbooks couldn’t find the perfect photo of a black German Shepherd. #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram
Pub Day Part One. The thing is, it’s really hard Pub Day Part One. The thing is, it’s really hard to be a creative person in the world, and the blessing, the salvation, the joy of it is the community around art: the writers who will call an emergency novel Zoom meeting when you’re stuck on a draft, the ones who roll up their sleeves and make sure your words are saying what you intend to say, the one who writes an interview to promote your book in the local paper, the reader who captures pictures of the event and makes a reel, the bookstore saints who plan a meal based on the story and serve blue and yellow cupcakes and sing happy birthday to your book on launch day, the readers who show up and get books signed and ask great questions and tell stories about their lives. That’s book magic. And thanks to @townecenterbks (especially Judy and Stacey although I know there are bookstore saints behind the scenes too) and @reneewritesnovels and @woolfmania and @cassandra.a.dunn and @lindalattelessons @aneedleinmybookstack and everyone who showed up to Read it and Eat, I will never ever forget the pub day for Home of the American Circus. You all made it so special. Thank you! I love you. I’m so grateful to be part of the community of writers and readers. ❤️🐘
@deborahblakeauthor RIGHT BACK AT YOU! ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I will be back on Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I will be back on the grid tomorrow! I love you all so much and I’m so grateful for your support! 😘😘😘 #homeoftheamericancircus
Well, here we are on the eve of Pub Day for Home o Well, here we are on the eve of Pub Day for Home of the American Circus! 

You know that classic bit of writing advice about how you’re supposed to write the book that scares you? Well, for a long time the thought of actually writing and sharing Home of the American Circus scared the heck out of me. I spent many many years collecting ideas for this book, terrified by the thought of how deep I’d have to dig to tell this story the right way. The book is firmly fiction, and the characters are all my imaginary friends, but the setting and themes are literally and figuratively close to home for me. Freya’s story isn’t mine, we have different life events and demographics, but I understand her sense of grief and loss and floundering and hope on a cellular level. And of all the characters I’ve ever written, the way her mind works is the closest to how I think and feel. It takes place in the town where I grew up. And I think when you read this book, you won’t know my life story, but you will know the tenor of my heart. I grew up as a kid with undiagnosed ADHD in a place where I didn’t fit, frantically trying to look normal, believing it was the only way anyone would love me. Always falling short, terrified of failure. And then in my early twenties, I dropped out of college and worked at a biker bar and made such a huge mess of my life that I was forced to build myself up again brick by brick—this time knowing that failure isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person. That as long as you can find the strength to try again in one way or another, falling flat on your face is not the end of the world. And I learned that the only way to truly feel loved is to be yourself and see who’s up for loving you in your natural form. The people I keep taught me that. And even though it scared me, this was a book I needed to write, it’s the work I’m most proud of, with characters I love the most. So sharing it doesn’t feel like the end of the world at all. Just the end of the world where I have not shared this novel set in ny hometown with a character who has a heart like mine. #misheardlyrics #rem #homeoftheamericancircus #awkwardguitar #itstheendoftheworldasweknowitandifeelfine
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