Yesterday was epic. Bigger than man walking on the moon, the first black president or even, yes, the joining of chocolate and peanut butter. Yesterday, my teenage son and I went shopping. Mind you, not grocery shopping, or all-the-junk-I-don’t-need Walmart shopping, but to the mall…clothes shopping…for him! Yeah, that just happened.
You see, both my boys hate to shop for clothes. In fact, I would probably have better luck getting them to paint their nails pink and do a CanCan on the Vegas Strip. (oh, that is unless there is a video game demo anywhere within a reachable radius). This being the case, I normally opt for the, purchase what looks to be the right size-bring home for them to try on- return for size that fits, method (I know, I am more saintly than suspected!).
I made the mistake years ago telling my kids the story of how my older brothers would always steer Mom away from any and all clothing displays saying “don’t even look, Mom.” Consequently, it has become routine whenever we ‘accidentally’ (hey, a girl can try) venture close to any women’s’ accoutrement each boy grabs me by an elbow and hustles me on like a criminal being escorted out of the store, repeating the mantra “don’t even look, Mom, just don’t even look.”
However, the current clothing situation for my growing teen had become dire. It seemed like all of a sudden, virtually everything he turned up wearing looked like he had wrestled it from some poor, unsuspecting short person. I mean, boys don’t wear ‘daisy dukes’, right? And with our current drought situation, those ‘floods’ were of no use to him whatsoever. Therefore, one brave morning, I broached the subject with trepidation:
“I was thinking, maybe you and I should go shopping to get for you some clothes that actually fit?”
(Look of incredulity, like I just suggested we shave the cat or something)
“I promise I will make it quick”
(grunt)
“We will only go to a few places.”
(groan)
“I will only make you try on stuff when absolutely necessary.”
(eye roll)
“I will run you by the army surplus store when we are done?”
(ding ding ding, we had a winner!)
So yesterday, off we went. I made good on all my promises and at the end of the day we arrived home with a bag full of clothes that actually fit him and, one army issue backpack & canteen.
For me, it was a great day. I got to utter terms like “v-neck tee”, “contrast stitching” and “skinny or straight leg jean?” and experience on a small scale the Mom/kid shopping outings so long denied.
For him, well, he found a way to make it work. I believe his exact words at the moment just prior to this photo being taken were
“Hey, like this, shopping isn’t so bad after all!”
Like I said, an epic day…
Looking for the Sweet Spot 
Your son is my kind of guy.
haha! I will tell him you said so!
What’s not fair is, it’s cool when a teenage boy lolls in a shopping cart to look through clothes. If a 40-something woman like me were to try it, I’d probably just get funny looks. Unfair!
So true!! No one really paid attention to him as he wheeled himself around in the cart, I think I got a few looks for my hysterical laughter, though!
My husband _loves_ shopping. I _loathe_ it. We’re not an exactly typical combination. I wish I got to ride in a trolley like that! 🙂
I know! He looks so content!
We can’t believe the shop let him ride in the trolley and with bare feet. Bare feet are apparently the most unhygienic hazard known to man according to most of the shops my husband has been chucked out of for said crime. 😉
Maybe Janet could get Rick to go shopping for his clothes if she let him sit in the cart. You think?
Shopping with daughters is so much more fun!
I think he might go for it! But, he might need a push.
Too funny. That might just work for Brooks too!!
Yes! All my friends with boys around the same age are ready to give it a try!
I feel his pain. The amount of choice just in t-shirts on that rack is immense. The number of hangers is doing my head in lol! The sitting-in-cart stance would possibly make it feel much more like I’d feel browsing through bookshelves in a serene library I think 😉
Your boys sound like they have a great sense of humour 🙂
Yes, he was trying to have a good attitude to get the job accomplished! We all love to laugh very much, so yes, sense of humor is rampant around my house! He says all the cart needs is a motor and he is all set!
Love this! Probably good planning not to try getting him fitted for a suit. (Now pondering all the interesting and colorful phrases that would fly from his mouth on that occasion???? And your inseam measurement is….)
-Nikki
haha – exactly! On second thought, might be good for a laugh!
That photo is priceless!….and so is the post. Made me giggle the whole way through. Many thanks and a few hugs too ~~
Thanks for giggling, that always makes my day when I get to make people laugh!
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Mmmm.. our sons must be cut of the same cloth..lol. I could even see that working for me (the cart thing) but what really cracked me up was the army surplus store as the carrot. I typically use Gamestop as my carrot.
haha – funny. Actually Gamestop may have worked as a carrot for him as well, but the army surplus was a sure thing! Thanks for stopping by!
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