The Thanks I Get

“Nice sweater,” I would say to a coworker over the 18 years we worked together, once in a while, when she had a cute sweater on. She did wear cute sweaters, colorful sweaters, and expensive sweaters.  She wore stuff that I thought I could wear as well.  Last week she asked me, “Would you like some sweaters that I don’t fit in anymore?”  I reply that I would and expected to see three sweaters, six sweaters tops.  The next day I see the giant black plastic bag coming toward my office and think there could be a body in there. This is no ordinary hefty cinch sack. This is a HUGE bag!  This could be the scene from a crime television show; not Cagney and Lacey or 21 Jump Street but it looks like one of those crime scene investigation shows that I never watch because they’re too gory.  Two women (she couldn't drag it alone) drag the bag into my office and thank me for taking the sweaters.  I look inside the bag and see more clothes than I have in my entire closet at home.  I’ll bet there are 100 beautiful, slightly worn sweaters. One still has the tags on it so it was never worn.  Nordic sweaters, fleecy sweaters, sweaters with patterns and sweaters without patterns, a couple light jackets, five turtle necks and one pair of pink/purple patterned capris with pink fringe on the hem.  None of the sweaters fit me. What is my reward for offering this person occasional compliments over the years?  I get a bag of sweaters that is so heavy it has to be dragged and none of them fit. I take the sweaters out of the bag and make four teetering stacks so if people want to look at them they won’t have to take them out of the bag.  Quite a few people help themselves to sweaters for themselves or for relatives.  I still have 80 sweaters left.  A coworker is part of a volunteer committee that makes gloves out of sweaters.  Would I mind if she takes them all?  I want to hug her but don’t.  That would not be appropriate and she wouldn’t like it either.  We bag the sweaters up and away they go.  So dear readers, the lesson is, if you see someone wearing a cute sweater, keep your opinion to yourself!