My Mother and Pajamas

My mother is 86 years old. Her father always wore pajamas to bed and her husband always wore pajamas. Therefore, Mother thinks all men ought to wear pajamas when they go to bed. There is nothing wrong with wearing pajamas; however, many men these days just don't wear them. Mother does not understand that. She somehow has gotten it into her head that it is vulgar to sleep in one's underwear (and she has never even considered the fact that some men may actually sleep "in the raw!")

The first time I married was back in 1980. I had a very large suitcase and my husband-to-be came over to the house with his things and we were going to pack for our honeymoon together in one suitcase. Mother was "supervising" the packing, so to speak, and when we were finished, she said, "Mark, you forgot to bring your pajamas!" (Okay, I would think pajamas are the LAST thing most men would consider when packing for their honeymoon! But, I digress....) Mark told her, "I don't wear pajamas. I sleep in my underwear."

My mother was absolutely shocked at that statement. "But what if there is a fire? ... What would you wear if you went to the hospital? ...Surely you keep an EMERGENCY pair of pajamas!" I don't think Mark had ever considered any of those options. It just was not a big deal to him. It was obviously a huge deal for my mother.

When we arrived at our honeymoon destination and opened our suitcase, there, on the very top, was a new pair of men's pajamas! They were the kind with the short pants and the button-up top. They were of a cotton print and the print had little cars all over in different colors! I'm sure Mother thought Mark wore those pajamas, but throughout our almost 18-year marriage, I don't recall that he ever wore them.

Fast forward to the year 2000. My husband-to-be and I were packing for our honeymoon. Mother was there again. Again, she said, "Robert, you didn't pack pajamas." (Talk about déjà vu! Here we go again!) Robert said, "I don't wear pajamas. I sleep in my underwear." Mother had the same reaction as she had 20 years prior. Again, when we arrived at our destination, there was a brand new pair of pajamas in the suitcase. However, these did not have little cars on them. They were light blue. To please Mother, at night time, Robert walks around the house in his pajamas. When we go into our bedroom and close the door, he takes them off. Mother is amazed how he is able to keep his pajamas looking like new!

My son is 24 years old. He has not slept in pajamas since he was a little boy. He sleeps in boxers and a t-shirt--usually a torn, ragged t-shirt. A few days ago, my mother asked me, "Have you noticed what John sleeps in at night?" (I should have known what was coming, but frankly, what he sleeps in is so far down on my list of important things, it is nonexistent) I said, "Mother, it just doesn't matter. If he's comfortable, its fine." As Yogi Berra once said, "Déjà vu all over again." "But...what if the house catches fire? What if he has to go to the hospital?" I just said, "Mother, don't worry about it."

A couple of weeks ago, Mother was in my living room and my son walked in. Mother said to him, "I have a surprise for you!" She was SO thrilled with herself. Sure enough, she handed him a package--a pair of pajamas! Just what every 24-year-old young man wants to receive!