In addition to buying household products and small appliances to compliment all my old pots and pans and the newly shipped loft bed, we were on a mission to outfit the oldest for the triathlon team she's joining--new running shoes, bike gear (don't get me started on the price of a road bike) etc. etc. And the youngest was pointing out in every store we entered that, in addition to school clothes, she has no shorts since she grew out of all hers and gave them to her older sister.
But could I just sit on a bench and patiently wait while this frenzy of shopping played out. Uh, no. Because over time, my girls have learned I apparently know them better than they know themselves and have an eye for fashion. The stuff they choose goes unworn in their closets. The clothes I buy as gifts become favorites. No, I'm not a fashion plate (I wear nothing but jeans and sweats...much to their chagrin) but I'm a pro at picking clothes they actually like and will wear. So, while they lounge in the dressing room, I run back and forth bringing them my top picks to try on.
Yeah, I should have had a career as a personal shopper.
But, I survived the ten hour ordeal and returned to tell the tale. Lighter of pocket (thought to be fair they did buy some of the stuff with their own hard earned cash) and with happy daughters. So, do you love shopping, or (like me) would you rather pour honey over your entire body and lay on an ant hill? Let's hear your back-to-school shopping horror stories...
And while you're in a shopping frame of mind, EVERY STEP SHE TAKES is on sale through the end of this month for only 99 cents. Get your copy now at the usual spots: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks. Or visit my website for more info on all my books. Happy shopping!
17 comments:
Egads...that sounds awful!! :-) I have sons, so those mother/son trips to the mall didn't happen, at least not after puberty. We did take some excursions to outfit them for their dorms and or apartments, but it was a while ago so thankfully the trauma has blurred from my brain. I'm glad you survived, Jannine! You're a good mom. :-)
I can only hope time will blur these memories, too, Leah. LOL
I hate shopping! Fortunately, my kids are too old for me to shop for. Love gift cards! I even give my 9-yr-old granddaughter a gift card for clothes. She loves looking for bargains to stretch the money even further.
Horror story: my sisters love to shop. Because of back problems, I can't stand still for more than a few minutes. They love antique stores and have to look in every cubicle and turn over every dish. Meanwhile I'm in agony. So when they want to go shopping, I cringe in horror. LOL Glad you & the girls survived the shopping trip.
Antique stores actually sound fun, Diane, since they don't involve teenagers or the mall. But I sympathize with the bad back.
Shopping horror stories? It's been years since my grown kids with nearly grown kids of their own dragged me through the mall. I do have a more recent one. *snort* We have an upright freezer in our garage that Calvin felt wasn't keeping our ice cream cold enough. He started watching ads and swore he'd found "the" one. I know how this man shops. He has a phobia about buying the first one he sees. He'll check out the one he wants, then we'll go to 4 or 5 more stores just to be sure he'll be getting the best deal. And we always...always go back to the first store to buy the fist one. So, after we'd checked out the freezer at Sears, I embraced it and oohed, "Yes! Yes, God, YES!" as if I were...well...as if. The young, red-faced salesman was bent over laughing. Calvin peeled me off the freezer--or so his version of the story goes--and bought it. Shopping was done! He's still teasing me about my behavior and the freezer gets delivered tomorrow. Whoot!
Sounds like you (and the refrigerator) had a lot more fun than I did on my shopping trip, Vonnie. LOL
Well, if you think you have problems, my daughter went to university in the good ol' USA while we were living in London. And that was pretty much pre-internet shopping boom. So what happened? A frenzied few days in Philly running around college shops trying to get a dorm room set up, books bought, wardrobe enhanced all on top of the usual freshman garbage. I don't think I've been so happy to say good-bye to my baby.
Ah, yes, I remember those days of shopping with daughters, not necessarily fondly either. I'm with Diane, gift cards all around! Although I will say - brag - that, although my daughters wouldn't let any clothes I picked out touch their bodies in any way, shape or form, whatever clothes I pick for my beautiful granddaughter become her favorites. Things her mother buys, ahem, not so much. Hee-hee. Those types of paybacks are especially sweet. ;-)
I can't even imagine, Andrea. Last year for the dorm, we took my husband's fully loaded truck. This year for the apartment, we'll need his truck plus a carload and a trip to IKEA!
Good one, Margo. You gotta love paybacks!
My daughter and I are champion power-shoppers and always have been. We pride ourselves on getting the best parking space, zipping in to each store, finding what we need, and zipping out in record time. I'd never last for 10 hours! But then, I only have one. Because she lived in the dorm for all four years, we didn't do the apartment shopping until she graduated. With her list in hand we did one gargantuan Ikea shopping spree, then OG figured the exact size of each flat pack box, loaded them into his SUV in the proper order to maximize every square inch, and we drove the whole thing to Chicago.
You sound like a model shopper, Alison. I need to take lessons.
No kids=no shopping experience to tell. I must say that when I shopped for my grand nieces in Seville, Spain, where kids' clothes are the cutest in the world...the whole experience said to me: "This is too much angst...don't do it again!"
I HATE shopping! Fortunately, my girls didn't need my input. I didn't have to go once they got old enough to know I didn't have to go. :)
Haha, Vonnie, you are hilarious!!
I don't have to do this anymore, but I do give support to my daughters-in-law when they complain. LOL
You lucky women with no forced shopping duty. But the day wasn't a complete loss since I got a blog post out of it! And hanging with my girls was sort of fun. Sort of. I would rather have done it on a walk in the woods...not that they want to walk in the woods with me...
I was blessed with just one son, but he loved to have me school shop for him. Years later I now know it's because he ended up with much more than if I'd given him the money and sent him on his way. I now have just one grandchild, but I'm looking forward to the shopping sprees with her when she gets older. Even though I hate shopping and malls, this kind of shopping I love.
I'd probably enjoy it more, Brenda, if we didn't live an hour away from the nearest mall. So, I feel compelled to get it all done in one marathon day since I hate going down to Reno. I'm sure you'll have many fun trips with Sadie.
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