Zen and the Art of Shopping

Oy.  Three weeks.  Three weeks!  Three weeks of summer vacation stand between me and the start of school.  There is a panicky need to fill the three weeks with lounge time in the pool, efforts to check off to-do lists, and as much pre-start-date curriculum work as I can stand.  Other teachers will know what I mean, but I wonder about people whose work goes all year round... when do they put together yard sales?  When do they move the furniture and clean behind it?  Hm.  Grand mystery of universe, those people.  :-)

This week has been spent with the usual to-do list stuff:  taking clothing to the alterations place, paying bills, considering the back-to-school bulletin board, etc., but there has been some fun stuff, too!  My mother and her friend and I went shopping at the outlet mall in Tuscola--two things I love:  a road trip with the GPS lady, and shopping.  Spending the day with my mom and her friend was a truly pleasant way to use one of my waning days of freedom, and I'm glad we all simultaneously had the time to go--especially on a rare mid-80's, non-humid July day in southern Illinois.

As we were shopping (me for--ugh--back-to-school outfits, mom and Bev for more pleasant purposes), it occurred to me what differences there are among people and the items they determine to be worthy of purchasing.  What was absolutely irresistible to me was completely disregarded by the others, and vice versa.  I am finding lately that what is irresistible to me is mostly preppy and sort of Hamptons-y (even though I have never, ever been there).  I love all things monogrammed.  I cannot pass by a sweater set or a pencil skirt.  If there is a tailored, crispy white button-down shirt, I will have it.  And the thing is, I know I have loved these looks for my entire adult life, but I haven't been buying these outfits for the last decade or so--or if I did, I didn't feel as good about it as I did yesterday.  Just lately, it has occurred to me that I am free to purchase whatever I like, and it doesn't really matter what anyone else likes instead.  And getting dressed these days is an activity that brings me intense satisfaction and pleasure, rather than nervousness and doubt.  Change is good.  Shopping is good.  And feeling comfortable in one's own skin and with one's own taste is really good.

Every now and then, there are perks about aging and experiencing life that make me immensely grateful NOT to be twenty again.