Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

At the end of October, I wrote a mini-essay about the value of the sayings displayed on sweatshirts today. In that essay, I provided a list of sweatshirt graffiti I liked, but didn’t own.

But, as I packed for my recent trip to NYC and was deciding what sweatshirts to bring along, I realized that the ones I actually own make a statement about me. So, while I didn’t bring them all to Manhattan, here are the ones that are closest to my heart right now.

There’s the blue sweatshirt with one word on it. The one word is ‘Fargo’, which is where my other son, the university professor lives. I bought this sweatshirt in the Fargo International Airport; and, because it was in an airport gift shop, I paid a pretty penny for it too. But I fell in love with the simplicity of the design; and where I live nobody has one like it. That gives it extra points.

Then there’s the sweatshirt I bought on our trip to Alaska last June. It too is blue but instead of one simple word across the front, it has reindeer boldly embossed in white. Again, where I live it is an original. Next I have a gray sweatshirt, created as a joke, that says “Lady Boss,” which I am. And the red sweatshirt that features a basket of flowers embroidered on its front. There is no special message here, other than I like the colors.

And, finally, this time of year is not Christmas unless I drag out an old tried and true favorite. It’s red with a faded sleigh across the front and the words, “I still believe.”

What could be more honest than that?