The alarm rang and I snapped it off and snuggled down further beneath the extra blanket I put on the bed last night. Mmmmmm … felt so good. But, I am a creature of habit and those extra few minutes of slumbering indulgence put a chink into my morning routine. When it was light enough outside to leave, I got a fresh sweat suit out of the bureau drawer and finished getting dressed. When I went to hook my pedometer leash to the sweatpants’ drawstring for safekeeping, I saw a white twisty tie on the drawstring. I was puzzled. I’d not seen these sweats since I packed them away in the Spring. Was there a hole that would embarrass me if I went out in them? I glanced in the mirror – nothing. I sighed and pulled first the top off, then the pants and gave each a cursory look. Well, no holes visible, so I guess I was good to go. I still had the niggling feeling something wasn’t right though. I shrugged my shoulders and slid into my cardigan sweatshirt, laced up my shoes and left. Good thing I didn’t remove the twisty tie from where I found it, because I was about two blocks from the house when my sweatpants started slip-slidin’ away. I looked down and I couldn’t see the tops of my shoes. Oh my! So that little twisty tie was supposed to remind me that I needed to deal with the drawstring before wearing these pants again. Oops! Well … the morning was glorious and I was enjoying my walk and I was not going to interrupt my plans just because my pants were not staying hitched up. All the efforts to earn those Brownie and Girl Guides badges for emergency preparedness were not wasted. I jerry-rigged the twisty tie on the drawstring and drew it up through a buttonhole on my cardigan. However, while that was clever, I was wearing low-rise socks and now high-rise pants which made for a strange combo or the “waitin’ for the floods” look. It didn’t matter because it was a workable option and I made it home without any further wardrobe malfunctions. Now I know how Janet Jackson felt!