Forgive Me Bloggers For I Have Sinned(Again)

Yesterday was a really fun day. After work the girls and I went to the mall to do some school shopping. Both girls needed shoes and some other stuff. A lady at work had given me a coupon for JCPenney’s. I love coupons. I love coupons almost as much as I love shopping. The fun thing about a coupon that gives you actual dollars off, is that it doesn’t matter what you buy. I was able to take the sale prices PLUS get the 15 bucks off on the coupon. Isn’t that exciting and thrilling? Aren’t you just breathless with excitement? I aim to hold up my end of the bargain, and blog about the really serious issues.

Next we hit Finish Line to buy shoes for Melissa. She had already spotted a pair that she wanted and we were hoping they still had them. They did. Keri saw a pair that she wanted, but I am NOT spending 110 bucks on a pair of tennis shoes for an almost ten year old. That’s just crazy, and we all know that I am completely sane…..perfectly normal. Well, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Next we headed to Aeropostale. (Am I spelling that correctly? That really sticks in my craw not to know) Normally, I hate shopping at the mall. As a general rule, I find the merchandise to be overpriced and I can’t afford overpriced merchandise. Melissa however, knew the Aero was having a sale and wanted to check it out. They had tops on sale 50% off. Once I figured out what the sale prices would be, I realized that I would spend about that amount for shirts at Kohl’s or some other store. We racked up. Even Keri got in on the action. I saved 87 dollars in Aeropostale. There is a big but(t) here. I completely embarrassed myself. I kept seeing this young girl arranging and sorting clothes. We needed a couple of dressing rooms, and this girl seemed completely oblivious to the customers around her. I KNOW she saw us standing by the dressing rooms, yet she didn’t ask if we needed any help. Finally I said, “Excuse me, could we get a couple of dressing rooms please?” She looked at me and said, “I don’t work here” Ooopss! My bad!

I mean, how was I supposed to know? She was a young girl, and usually young girls work in those stores. She appeared to be straightening and sorting the clothes. How was I supposed to know she didn’t work there? Being embarrassed has many levels ranging from a complete body blush to just mildly chagrined. I am putting this one at a level of “mildly chagrined”.

We ended up with 2 pairs of tennis shoes, 2 pairs of shorts, 3 pairs of underwear, and 9 shirts. Plus Keri bought a really big chunky necklace and bracelet from Claire’s. Melissa was telling me how this stuff is stylish now. I only smirked. I am sure I am not the only one who remembers this stuff being cool in the 80’s. Do you guys remember that? There some things I will be sad to see come back around.

We stopped off for an extremely healthy meal from Mickey D’s. When we got home, the girls decided to try on their clothes AGAIN. It was really sweet. The way our house is designed, there are bedrooms on either side of the living room, so the living room is centralized in the house. Keri would come out of her room and ask me what I thought, and then Melissa would come out and ask me what I thought. I can’t believe they actually take my opinion into consideration.

You how sometimes you hesitate to blog about something. You worry what your friends in blog land may think of you, or you may feel it to be something too personal to blog about. For me it’s an issue of what you fine people may think. I have decided in the interest of keeping it real, I will share.

Part of my unbelievable stress last week was money. This year has been a great deal harder on me than the last few years. One of my main struggles as a single parent is money. Emotionally, raising the girls by myself has become easy and fun mostly. As the beginning of the school year approached, I knew I wasn’t going to have the funds available to take them school shopping. That is the reason the other relatives have pitched in to help. Yet even with their help, I knew the girls were still going to need some things.

I did something I am not necessarily proud of, yet I feel as though I am probably not the only single parent to ever make this choice. I skipped out on a bill. I will eventually HAVE to pay the bill obviously….just not right now. My kids needed stuff and I won’t have them going without. You want to hear something else? I don’t regret it. AT ALL!!! Especially after they got home and started modeling all their clothes and telling me how excited they are for school to start. They are so happy! It melted my heart. When you grow up poor and being the kid that gets picked on for the clothes and shoes you wear, it does something to you. For one thing, it makes you hate school and I don’t want that for my girls. It also sears into your brain that you NEVER want your children to have to go through that. Mine won’t. I promise you that whatever it takes to get it done, I’ll do it. Now I just have to figure out how I’m going to pay that bill………………

I belatedly give myself The Cone of Safety, so you can’t judge or criticize me for revealing my heinous sin. If you leave me any nasty comments telling me how irresponsible I am……...well then you will just have to be excluded from my plans for world domination.