Sunday, March 11, 2012

Shopping with my mom

Day 11 of 31 at TWT!
When I was little, I definitely did NOT like shopping.  My mom and her mom would draaaaaag me through endless rows of shopping racks and changing rooms.  My feet got heavier and heeeeaaaavier as they perused shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, suits, shoes.. aaaaa!  I would anxiously peer around towering mannequins and piles of clothes, hoping to catch a glimpse of my quarry: one of those elusive chairs that department stores sprinkle around to satisfy exhausted husbands and children.

Moreover, it really wasn't any better when we were shopping for me instead of them. They'd pull out the ugliest, most embarrassing clothes in the store: "Do you like this?"  "Look, isn't this sweet?"  "Oh, you would look adorable in this!"  My mom now swears that this is an ongoing curse passed from mother to daughter: she always felt exactly the same way about things her mom would pull off the rack for her!

However, something gradually changed as I got into high school and college.  Perhaps it was just the fact that I now was interested in clothes (instead of toys).  Or maybe it was that my mom was now becoming more of a friend as I grew to an age where I could relate to her better.  Maybe a little bit was the fact that, once you start having to buy things with your own money, any chance to have your mom buy you something is welcome!  Whatever the reason, shopping suddenly became... fun!

Now that I'm a teacher (my mom was a teacher for many years and is now a principal), shopping with my mom is a special time.  I get new clothes to wear to work (I now understand that it's totally no fun to wear the same things week after week), and I get to talk to my mom about school and life.  Plus, it's a fun break from doing housework or schoolwork or feeling like I SHOULD be doing one or the other!

Today we've scheduled the whole afternoon for shopping at the local outdoor, mini-city-like mall across town -- a step up from the normal mall we usually go to.  Mom loves to spend money on me and we love to spend time together, so I'm looking forward to an afternoon of stories, laughter, and hopefully some new purchases! 

Even if my feet might still get a little heavy by the end of the day, it'll be worth it.

2 comments:

  1. I love the way your view of shopping changed once you had to spend the money. I have always liked shopping, in fact I often volunteered to go to the grocery store with my mom. Maybe I was just trying to get out of the house and away from my brothers. I hope you got some new things and had a lovely time with your mom. That's the way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

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  2. What a great slice of the mom/daughter llfe, Jennifer. I laughed when I read that your mother told you about the mother/daughter shopping curse. It happened in our family too, te he. I remember my daughter kind of walking about 5 paces behind me when we shopped, wanting no one to know we even belonged together! Until time for the credit card of course. And it is now lots of fun just as you described. I hope you had a lovely afternoon at the town mall-they are fun, aren't they?

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