Fit the suit their father wore
It starts really early in our cycle of life. We’re born, we get clothes, we outgrow them. Worse, the odds are that most of us will continue to do so for the majority of our lifetime. Check your closet, or the bottom drawer where the smaller sweaters and shorts tend to hide from public view. Put it down to shrinkage (yeah, sure) or evolution (I believe); clothes will not fit properly forever.
Somewhere in the basement, I have a specialized suit. One made of neoprene rubber, in basic black. A wetsuit (yes, you get wet in a wetsuit), purchased back when I was younger, more athletic, lived closer to running water and was smaller. Over the years, due to better nutritional habits and a change in metabolism, the suit got tighter and tighter, until I finally decided to retire it. After all, with three sons, I could make a quality nylon two-sided wetsuit, with boots and hood and gloves, into a prized entry into the undersea world. Not one of those shoddy “sharkskin” affairs that were all the rage back in the ’70s, either!
Alas, all three of them are too big. Long before reaching the age where I had to say “no go”, they’ve all gained enough corporal volume to guarantee they will not have to ever wear my hand-me-downs. I’m glad that they’ve grown to be bigger than their father, but I thought they might get at least one season under the sea before they were unable to fit the suit their father wore.
Today, son #2 received a new wetsuit, which will allow him to kayak in reasonable thermal comfort. It’s not as heavy as my old togs, but then again, he’s not supposed to be trying to sail under the sea, in an octopus’s garden.
This whole “sons bigger than parents” thing might have some good results. If they take up diving, maybe Dad can inherit their castoffs. After all, I’ve probably stopped growing.
