you had me at hello!
all i needed to see was the beautiful blue doors with glass! when i see a store that is spectacular from a distance, it's calling my name out loud. the store front seems to be beckoning, "come over here....look at me...i'm here for you....
woo hooo!"
and off i go! sometimes grace will feel the calling as well.....it's innate! we can't help the calling. not everyone can hear that calling.....it's special! it's a gift. down through the generations....it's ours to have and to hold.
not always to hold and take home! sadly, we just have too much stuff....because some of our calling has become a curse. just like too much of anything.....
moderation. "everything in moderation." was my mom's chant. no matter what the subject....diet....drinking....eating....
mayonnaise....butter.....salt. you name it!
except, she really didn't know moderation when it came to shopping. her own mother worked in some of the finer stores in massachusetts, where she was from. my grandmother did not know excess. she was brought up with the finer things....yet she lived simply.
then she had a daughter....in 1924....i believe that's when my grandmother's shopping gene was triggered....and the calling began!
my mom had the calling from the get go! to help it along, my grandfather used to take my mom with him summers while he traveled to see customers. he was a salesman for general motors....
my grandfather would give my mom 25 cents to shop while she waited for him to make his sales calls. my mom, at 10 years old, that's where mom's shopping bonanzas began!
she loved everything to do with clothing and china. hmmm... i wonder where i get that from!
and again, i'm thankful to e-bay for allowing us to move on...move on from this crazy excess! the finer things are fabulous and well appreciated....only if we can find them!
i love selling. i love the thrill of the hunt. it's been fun! but after having so much "stuff" come to me from mom....stuff that we have saved from our own family....stuff that we hold onto for emotional sake......i'm done! i'm letting it loose on the world! if someone in turkey wants a camera that grace no longer uses, i'll fly it there....o.k., at least, the u.s. mail will deliver it for me!
so, i still love to shop. the stores still call my name! last week was a test run. i carried no money. we were in boston. we were on newbury street! i did it! i stopped, i shopped....with grace right by my side.....loving everything there was to love....and we bought nothing! zero...zip...nada!
we were back in our south shore town...visiting....we bought no lacrosse tees, we bought no sailing tees.....from the town we love! we took home our memories.
we were on cape cod. we visited our favorite spots. we stopped in our favorite towns. we looked in windows. we stopped in stores.
we took home memories.
there were a few moments....just a few ....where i had to white knuckle it....i needed support. biff was right there....shopping isn't his thing. unless it's on e-bay. stores are a place for him to run in and run out!
last christmas, grace wanted a sweet anchor necklace from tiffany & co. she loves anchors. she loves tiffany. a lovely gift.
biff planned to swing by a local tiffany & co. after work. after work and before his tiffany & co. adventure, he took a ten mile mountain bike ride. he was pumped up...and looking like a mountain man! dirty from head to toe, sweaty and charming as ever. he called the store ahead of time. he asked the saleswoman if they had the necklace in stock. indeed they did. he found parking, he ran into the spectacular mall, he sprinted to tiffany & co., he arrived at the store....even more sweaty...walked through the door...spoke to a saleswoman...gave her his information...thanked her for her fine service....sprinted back to his car and drove home.
as he drove home with the turquoise box and the pretty red ribbon, his cell phone rang. he pulled over to pick it up. the caller on the other end was a representative from tiffany & co. she was calling to see if he was satisfied with his service.
he was. he was thrilled. he was ecstatic. it wasn't about the whole shopping experience, about the selection and the decision making....it was the hit and run. the joy and christmas cheer and spirit....of getting in and out of the whole shopping extravaganza at a mall, at a store.....in a grand total of 15 minutes.
biff doesn't have the calling. i think we're a good balance. thankfully.
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