Shopping

 

 

 

 

Shopping

                                       by Judy

“Mom, I love this. I’ve got to have it, pleeeeze,” my older daughter begged and held up an article of clothing I knew no child of mine would ever wear out of the house.

“Mom, every girl in my class has these jeans. I’ve got to have them, pleeeeze,” my second daughter said. I could feed the family for two weeks for what they cost.

Shopping for school clothes with my daughters was an important August outing for my girls and me. It more often than not included some mother-daughter spats, but we survived. Sometimes my daughters tried to abandon me in the sensible clothing department while they made their way to the area where they might find shorter shorts and halter tops. They couldn’t lose me, though, because while I might not have seen them, I always heard their giggles three clothes’ racks over.

Each year, we rushed from store to store and spent dollar after dollar. Then just as if a switch had been turned on, my buyer’s remorse kicked in, and I could not spend one more dollar. The girls quickly learned if they really wanted an item of clothing, it needed to be at the top of the list.

Yes, shopping with the girls was a challenge, not so with my older son. He always studied the clothing selections in at least six different stores before he gathered a variety of shirts, jeans, and shorts.  Laden with the many articles, he disappeared into a dressing room. I passed the time reading.  When he exited with his choices in hand, I pulled out my credit card. He appreciated the value of a dollar, and the total cost was always under budget.

My younger son was almost as challenging as the girls. He saw no reason to try on any article of clothing. He preferred to estimate how much he had grown from year to year. In fact, convincing him to leave the house for the shopping trip, getting him out of the car and into the store was not easy. He was more than happy to continue to wear last year’s clothes, no matter how tattered, torn, or if his jeans hit him mid-calf..

I miss those back-to-school shopping trips.