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I am old soul who covers the grey really well. I love to be active and creative. I am blogging to help keep the memories alive and to keep those special moments around.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Shopping with a 12 year old a.k.a."Mums" the word.

I have learned after my 12,000 shopping trips with my daughter to keep my mouth shut. Yesterday, we went on the hunt for a new bikini. She already has 3 or 4 but none are right for her upcoming pool party. I have protested at home but she wants a 2 certain pieces she does have. I am a frugal mom. She has been babysitting. We are going to split the price

My daughter is a good shopper. She does her pre-shopping online then we go to the mall to get the things she wants. I do not hate the mall. In fact, I love the mall. I just do not have the patience to shop with someone else. I am also a quick chooser. If I cannot walk in & see it in 2 seconds then I am done and gone. My daughter loves to grab racks of clothes to try on. I sit off to the side waiting for her to come out. If I make a suggestion or a comment then I may ruin the whole process. She may grab whole new racks of clothes. It is the golden rule that if mom likes it then it is not cool. My new favorite clothing stores are now the ones where I see lots of chairs for me.

The pre-shopping works sometimes. Yesterday it did not. I thought we would be in and out. That particular store did not have the bottoms she wanted out of the 5 selections. I know you want to know why we did not order online or call ahead. First, she needed it in 2 days. Second, the store had temporarily moved to redecorate and nobody was answering the phone. We moved on to another store.

My daughter has grown and in her pre-teen mind did not want to move up a size in bikinis. In the second store I found my corner and she went in with her 15 choices. Each top did not fit right. I humbly suggesting getting the next size up. This was deemed as unacceptable with a little stomp to accompany it. That was a rookie mistake. I opened my mouth to give her an opinion. My daughter has a great look which mixes up a what do I know signal with how dare you open your mouth. I have lost my fashion sense but I have still have the upper hand because I still hold the fashion "cents". I wait patiently in my chair.

We go to the third store. The third store is a little more upscale with tinier clothes especially the bikinis. I cross my fingers and remember to keep my mouth shut. I know it is here in tiny bikini-land that she will find the one she loves. I look for the fox hole to jump in when I say no.
It is a miracle! She does not like one of the $100 teeny-weeny bikinis. She does however like 2 pairs of shorts and 2 tank tops. These do total $100.

The fourth store has nothing, nada, zip. I even make the mistake of holding up what I thought was the style she wants. Oh no, did I not see that tiny, globby thing on the left part of the bikini that just ruins it. Where are my bi-focals? Where is my muzzle? I see over in the corner a large department store with semi-reasonable prices. I know she has never been there. I know they will have racks of suits. Do I dare?

I hate department store and rarely take her to one. It is too much work to go through the endless racks of clothes. One bonus is they do have chairs in the dressing room. I make the suggestion and she accepts. We go in. Immediately, she finds 4 suits that match her style. We grab 6 others just in case. She tries them on. The first 4 do not do look good. I am sitting and I am calm. I have said little. We are agreeing. The next 6 do not look good. I am sitting and now I am praying. I am sent out for a different size bottom. I also suggest getting maybe getting a different size top too. It is accepted. A Christmas miracle in June. I'll take it.

As I am going for the 2 items, I also grab 3 other suits that may work. I open the dressing room door quickly and throw them in. My hand comes back out intact. She tries them on! Guess what, 1 of my choices works. I say nothing and remained seated. I look around for another mom to celebrate with but I am alone. The best news of all is they are having a sale too.

She comes out. She is not willing to commit and we put the bikini on hold at the cash register. We need to go to 2 more stores. I smile and nod. She does not see the tear trickling down my left cheek nor the limp I now have. I think we have circled the mall 3 times. The next store has no good bikinis but it has great flip-flops. We buy them and we leave. The next store is the first store and we are going back to double check. In this store, we now find a dress for an up-coming party. Cha-ching. I now have tears going down both cheeks and an empty wallet.

As we exit this store, I cannot think of another place or another style bikini. I want to be done. I do not want to go into another dark cave reeking of cheap cologne resembling a hip place without chairs. She turns to me and say that she is ready to buy the one on hold. I regain my strength I even do a little jig but I say nothing. If I say I love the suit I might lose the deal.

I sprint to the store. There is no in line. Am I heaven? Did I die on the way? I say nothing. We buy the suit. We leave the mall. The sun is still out. It is still the same day. I have survived even though I spent 3x more than I thought I would. We drive down the street and she is rifling through her bags. Then I hear the dreaded "Mom, where is my Gap bag?". I silently turn the car around and head back to mall.

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