We Learn Our Shopping Patterns From Our Parents

Today I went clothes shopping. My boyfriend knows it's like pulling teeth to get me to shop if and when I can afford it. But with a camping trip coming up this weekend he really really wanted me to get some jeans so I don't freeze to death at night. Well, I haven't worn jeans since the 70's. Jeans don't stretch enough to cover my butt and my gut. But I determined to at least give it a go. I asked him if I could also pick up 2 or 3 new t-shirts. He said okay.

Well I get to the store and try on the biggest jeans in the women's and the men's dept. No way no how those were going to fit me. Well, that was demoralizing enough. I started looking at shirts. Remember it's his money, so I don't want to overspend. Then again he didn't say how much I could spend. Anyway, instead of 2 or 3 shirts I found 7 I wanted (needed). Two t-shirts for camping, 3 sleeveless shirts in case it's 100 degrees when we get there, and 2 nicer shirts because you just can't wear a t-shirt everywhere.

Then I have a new dilemma. Is he gonna to get mad if I buy more than he's expecting and on top of that, I don't get the jeans? Two days ago he got mad because I needed to grab breakfast as we were running errands and he didn't want to pay for mine (not that I asked him to). So I tried to call him at work to ask if it was okay. Of course he didn't answer his phone (almost never does). So I sat down to think about my options.

Here's where the "I remember when' part comes in. I remember when my mother took the five of us kids shopping. My father earned the only family income by being a Sgt. in the air force. So my mother was always afraid she'd spend too much and he'd be furious. So we'd get to the register and she'd panic and we'd have to start putting things back. With five kids even buying socks and underwear can add up to a lot. I was always mortified when she acted that way. Like any decision she made would be wrong.

So I'm thinking, "OMG I'm turning into my mother." I couldn't decide which 3 shirts to keep and which 4 to put back. I felt bad that he had to buy my clothes at all. I felt bad to know that if I bought them myself, I'd be broke until the first of next month or longer. I almost went home out of sheer frustration without buying anything. But then he'd accuse me of being a martyr. But I really did need at least some of them for this weekend. Finally I bought all the shirts and put it on my debit card. It was over $50.00. Kind of a no win situation.

Not Just Any Houseplant

I remember when I lived in the college town San Luis Obispo CA and always had to share apartments with college students even though I wasn't in college at the time. I didn't have a car and my bicycle got stolen, so my roommate offered me a lift downtown because she was moving some of her furnishings elsewhere. So I get in the car with her houseplants in the back and we are driving down Santa Rosa Blvd. when I realize people are honking and pointing and laughing at us. Then I realized her houseplant was a pot plant. And my thought was I'm the type of person that never smoked pot in her life and now I'm going to go to jail for possession. Egads!. Luckily my stop was near and I got out before anything else happened.

What was she thinking?

Sneaky

I remember when I was in High School and I went out into the backyard at night to open the wooden gate to the front yard. The gate was just high enough that I couldn't see over it. I undid the latch and my brother jumped up and yelled from the other side. The next thing I know I'm getting up off the ground. I totally fainted.

For the Love of Banjo

I remember when I was in high school in Sunnymead CA(now Moreno Valley) when we got a handsome new teacher who played the banjo. After school let out for the day, he would sit on the grass under the tree in front of his classroom and start strumming the banjo. Now of course I knew what banjos were. Even back in the 1970's they were known as a kind of dorky instrument that only hillbillies played. But hearing it up close and personal had an impact on me. I was already taking guitar classes so I could relate to stringed instruments.

The problem was I was supposed to catch the bus home, and they left no later than 20 minutes after class got out. So it was always tricky to listen as long as I could and then try to race for the bus. It's been too many years so I don't remember if I actually missed the bus, but I probably ended up walking home on more than one occasion. For years I wanted to get a banjo. My last attempt was right after I'd bought a mandolin on Ebay. I was about to order a banjo when my boyfriend put his foot down. I hate it when I neglect my dreams because someone else doesn't approve.

I always wanted to be that person that could sit in a park and start playing and singing and people would come out of the woodwork and gather around and listen.