I know I’m a minority in the female persuasion by saying that I hate shopping. Always have. I blame a mall-obsessed mother who used to drag me around for hours. To this day, I cannot enter a fabric store without getting hives.
And so guess what my mother wanted to do within 24 hours of arriving at our house this weekend? Yep, you guessed it. While I enviously watched the men drive up to the mountains to hike, I was stuck on estrogen duty thumbing through clothing racks of clothes that no longer fit. Talk about fun.
Chaos ensued the morning we were supposed to meet my mother-in-law (another shopper..AWK..I’m surrounded!) Not only did it take my beloved high-maintenance mother three hours to get ready (a new record), but Bode threw an all-time fit and Hadley locked herself in the bathroom.
Sensing I was about to be committed to the psych ward (did I mention I only got three hours of sleep?) Mom gave me an out and offered Super Target as an alternative to the mall (one I would have gladly taken.) But I blame Hadley when she proclaimed: “No Super Target. MALL!” Unfortunately, she has the shopping gene. I just hope Bode is on my side.
I won’t expound upon the shopping trip. Just know that we were there for a couple of hours. And hit only two stores. Yes, people: that means I was in each store for one entire hour. Did you know one hour is enough time for a Hurricane to completely dismantle everything in her wake?
I’m ashamed to say that I left my mother there. At the mall. No, don’t think ill of me. She had plenty of food and water to last for weeks. Plus, my MIL offered to take her around, an offer I strongly encouraged my mother to take. Y’see, I know I can’t be very fun to shop with because if I hate shopping with me, why would anyone else enjoy it?
Oh well. At least Bode’s baby blessing went well (the reason why the entire clan was in town the first place). Well, if you don’t count Hadley’s little bout of projectile vomit moments before we got started. After that little episode and the inevitable disasters that will likely ensue the next couple of weeks while my Murphy’s Law family is in town, maybe the mall ain’t so bad after all…
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 