Shopping
About a month ago my mother asked me the inevitable question “What do you want for Christmas?” I rarely have a good answer to that question because honestly I don’t need anything. There are lots of things I would enjoy having, but since I know I’m not going to make frivolous purchases I tend to stay out of stores, thus I don’t even know which frivolous things I would like. I know I’d love to have a laptop computer, but that’s quite a bit outside the Christmas gift price range. This year though I found to perfect answer to the question. See this year Mom and I are going to be together at Christmas instead of 800 miles apart. So this year I declared that what I wanted was a shopping trip.
When I was a teenager, mom and I went on shopping trips about once per year. Usually it was for school clothes. A full shopping trip is different than running to buy a pair of pants because you need them. The point of a shopping trip is to browse and grab stacks of clothes to try on. Frequently you grab things that are far too expensive or far too strange to actually buy. Those things you try on just for the giggles. At the end of the pile of clothes there might be one or two items that are worth purchasing. Sometimes there aren’t any worth buying. That’s okay too. After two or three stores usually you find at least one wonderful new item. Even if I find nothing I love having the excuse to look at pretty things and try them on. At the end of a shopping trip I have a much better idea of what current fashion trends are, whether I like them, and how they look on me.
Shopping also provides hours of time for just chatting. Mom and I talk about things in our lives, the world in general, and how much this shirt looks like it is made out of upholstery fabric. Sometimes the talk covers important topics, sometimes it doesn’t, either one is fine. Having the right person to go shopping with makes all the difference in the world. I have to be comfortable with my shopping buddy. Honestly I’ve never found anyone other than my mom and sisters with whom I enjoy this type of shopping. Howard and I have gone clothes shopping together just once and we simply do not have compatable clothes shopping styles. All my female friends have kids, as do I, so unloading all the kids for a group shopping trip becomes a herculean task. Also I’m not sure if they’d like shopping the way that I enjoy it. There are women who just don’t enjoy this style of shopping.
The financial aspect is another hurdle. While you can go shopping and have fun while spending no money at all, it is definitely more fun if you get to bring home at least one pretty new thing. If you have two women from different households they may have completely different budgets. Our budget has been very tight which means I am much happier if I don’t wander through stores looking at things that I can’t afford to buy. For this trip my mom told me how much money she was willing to spend on a gift for me and that guided my choices. In the end she bought my birthday presents as well as Christmas gifts. The world is filled with pretty things.
It may be frivolous and female of me, but I loved every minute of the shopping trip. I loved trying on the clothes. I loved getting to pick out new clothes and inexpensive jewelry that I get to take home with me. I kept some of the purchases out to wear tonight to the Schlock meetup, the rest has been wrapped and put under the tree. Going shopping with my mom was like coming home. It was like being a teenager again. It was so wonderful and comfortable and happy. This vacation has only begun and it has already been wonderful for me.