Rodeo Jeans

I met my husband in February 2002, and our second date was to the Houston Rodeo. Every spring the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo takes over Houston for about a month, and it is a huge thing ‘round these parts. Up until that point I had been to the rodeo once or twice with my family, but we were not “Rodeo people.” We were not into country music, western wear, or livestock, and didn’t really hang with anyone who was. When I was a teenager, my district had 2 high schools (now it has 5!) and I attended Clear Lake, which was richly populated with people who wore Izod polos and listened to pop music. The other high school, Clear Creek, was richly populated with people who wore cowboy boots and listened to country music. Naturally they thought we were stuck up, and we thought they were hicks. So going to the Rodeo was not something I had a lot of experience with, but my future husband was a fan, and already had tickets, so I agreed to go.


Right around that time I had received a bag of hand-me-over clothes from someone (can’t recall if she was losing weight or gaining), and in the bag happened to be a pair of what I fondly refer to as my “rodeo jeans.” These jeans are boot cut, with studs up the outsides of the legs and rhinestones all around the pockets, and at the time (I was around my heaviest) they were TIGHT! But since I was able to get them zipped, and being in the mode of trying to impress FutureHusband, I squeezed myself into them, donned the only western-style shirt I owned (untucked, of course!), and went off to the rodeo.


I had a good time, and over the last several years have discovered that I do like a lot of country music, enjoy livestock shows, and even get a kick out of dressing western once in awhile. But that 2nd date to the rodeo was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life! Stadium seats are not made for fat girls with humongous back ends, and being in those jeans meant that when I did wedge myself into a sitting position (after walking up several ramps and those steep, steep stadium stairs!), my stomach rolled over the waistband and breathing became a challenge. The rodeo plus concert lasts a good 4 hours, so it was brutal. I kept my arm around the back of FutureHusband’s chair for most of the time, not out of affection, but simply to ease the pressure on my lungs and to keep from rubbing against the person to my right (who undoubtedly was thinking “Great, I get to sit next to a big’un – and holy cow how did she get herself into those jeans?!")


Preceding and following the torture of sitting in a hard plastic vise struggling to breathe, we walked – a lot. The Houston Rodeo is not just about bronc busting – it is a multi-million dollar event which includes a huge livestock show, gigantic kids area, hundreds of vendor booths, a massive carnival, an art show, a quilt show, loads of scholarship money, every kind of unhealthy food imaginable (e.g. deep fried snickers bars), etcetera, etcetera! It is easy to spend an entire day there (along with an entire paycheck, if you are not careful)! So the rodeo/concert was bookmarked with a lot of walking, or in my case trotting, to keep up with a 6’2” guy with very long legs who was in much better shape than I was.


I don’t know if you have ever tried to trot in super-tight jeans, hand me down boots, and a western shirt; in 80-degree weather, with asthma and close to 150 pounds of extra weight, but it is not fun! I kept asking FutureHusband to slow down, blaming my asthma primarily, because I was sucking on my inhaler about every half-hour; and the boots secondarily, since they were a new experience for me and a little too big as well. He was nice about it, a perfect gentleman, and I asked him this year if he knew back then that I was huffing and puffing because I was so incredibly out of shape. He says he didn’t, which is points for him whether or not it is true.


I still have those jeans, and in fact I have worn them to the rodeo every year since that first miserable time, with the exception of this year. (Most of those years I was nearly 30 pounds lighter than in 2002, so although the jeans were still snug, they did not render me miserable.) I didn’t wear them this year in 2008 because they are now so loose that I can take them off without unzipping them! (and no, there is not a speck of spandex in them.) This year, I actually had to buy a new pair of rodeo jeans, and although they are not nearly as flashy as my old ones (no studs or rhinestones on these puppies), they are boot cut, western style, faded Levis, and more importantly: they are a size 20! Over the years I have cut a lot of size tags out of clothes (to fool myself and others) but the size tag in my old rodeo jeans is still there, and it says 26/28. When my husband and I were jean shopping (he needed some too) I went straight for the 22, but they were too baggy (!) so I ended up buying the 20. I wore them to the rodeo last week, and when I sat down in the stadium not only did I fit in the seat, I could actually breathe!


Talk about motivation! But as psyched as I am about my new jeans, I am waaaaay more excited to report that they have apparently done some major construction on the Reliant Center, because this year I was able to walk from the bottom of the stadium section to the top without huffing and puffing! Perhaps they had so many complaints from fat folks that they adjusted the angle of ascent for the stairs and ramps. ;)

Seriously, though, when we went to the rodeo this year, I did not have to trot, suck on my inhaler, or struggle to breathe. I was not only able to keep up, I did so without sweating, and realized that the weight I have lost so far plus the exercise I have been doing truly is making a big difference! I can remember in years past thinking: “I really have to go to the bathroom, but I really don’t want to walk up those steep, steep stairs again!” This year? No issue. Not that I don’t still have a long way to go, because I do, but these are the things that keep me from getting discouraged with the “big picture.” These are the Gatorade shots that help you finish the marathon. So Yee-Haw!



Me and hubby at Rodeo 2008