Taking the Daughter Shopping

Being stuck resting for a while yet, I had to stay in bed while the hubs took the almost-15 year old school clothes shopping. This man has never taken her shopping on his own, or been on an extended shopping trip with her, before. Oh, the poor, innocent man. He had no idea what's in store for him.

G lives for clothes shopping. She suffers through every second of every mundane thing in life just to get to the thrill known as shopping. New clothes & shoes make enduring teenage angst worthwhile for this child. I have never met another person who has the energy G has when it comes to shopping. The stores close before she's even close to being tired. This child who thinks 9:00 is too early on a summer morning, will suddenly burst out of bed at 7 on a Saturday ready to not sit still until after dark. She will make up for not taking any sports this summer by getting 3 month's worth of exercise in one day. The child who eats enough in every meal to top any pro football player's diet will forget to stop to eat. She would be happy if she could carry an IV of fluid & a catheter while shopping so she doesn't have to stop for anything.

I gave G her school clothes budget & told her she could buy whatever she wanted with that money. She has been planning what she wants to get for weeks now. She has a route mapped out. Wanting to get the most for her money, she has sat with magazines & catalogs marking what tops go with which bottoms & shoes. She matched up what she has to what she needs. She even took coupons with her. This is serious business to a teen girl. A lot of planning went into today.

Before they left, I heard the hubs mention the name of a store that is particularly expensive. I think his plan was to spend her budget right away on a few items, so she would be done shopping sooner. Ah, silly, silly man, props for trying, but you will never outsmart G in this area. She knows exactly which store to get the best price on which item so that she can stretch those dollars.

I wonder how many trips to Starbucks or Gloria Jeans they've made today. I'm sure he'll expect me to have all sorts of sympathy for how sore his feet are & how many miles he walked while following her around carrying her bags. I'll make his life a little easier & take care of dinner for him so he doesn't have to. I'll order the pizza now.