I took Nick to the store to shop for clothes today. I hate the thought of shopping, but I have to admit that we had fun. In the afternoon, we walked with Nick's friends, their mom, and our dogs before I had to drop Nick off at karate. Somehow, we ended up with spare time in between. I was so relieved to be done with that walk early, since Nick's friends were spitting on each other and throwing punches right and left. And these were girls! Thankfully, Nick was smart enough not to join in. After it was over, I was feeling generous toward my well-behaved boy. Plus, he needed summer clothes.
I knew it was a bit past time for us to get him new clothes, but sometimes I forget how much more goes into choosing clothes, even for a boy. He wanted to shop at Fred Meyer, so we picked up salads and burritos at Taco Time and headed in that direction.
Once we started, I kept gravitating toward the smaller sizes. Oh, I knew what the numbers were, but the clothes in his size looked way too big. He was excited when I said okay to a handful of shorts and a half a dozen T-shirts he liked before heading to the fitting room. On his way in, he told me he wanted "one of those hats."
"Nope, you pick clothes first and we'll look at a hat if we have time or money left over when we're done," I said. He got to work. I think of it as work anyway, but he had kind of a glow in his eyes. Even the guy who unlocked the fitting room door mentioned it, a boy who wanted to try on clothes. Wow! Well, Nick wouldn't like it half so well if we shopped a lot and these days, a bunch of his T-shirts are old rejects of mine. Oh, the Purdue football T-shirt isn't so bad, but I've also given him my shirts from Cub Scout camp. He's a Boy Scout now, though he hasn't complained openly. He was down to two pair of shorts, and I knew he needed more socks. I could have gotten the socks without any fanfare, but he needed to try on the pants.
After a few minutes in the room, he flung the door open with a huge grin on his face. That was all I needed to be convinced. "Okay!" I said. "Put those in the definite yes pile." And from there, he put two more pair of shorts and five more shirts into that yes pile. I made him drop two shirts that he'd liked, but I can always buy them later after looking through his drawer at those sad looking T-shirts.
"Here, try this on," I said and dropped the fedora he'd liked over the top of the door into the changing room. That was the icing on the cake. He came out wearing Union Bay shorts in black and gray camo, a black Under Armour muscle shirt, and the DPG straw fedora with black trim. I couldn't help but laugh at the way he touched the brim of his hat and pointed his index fingers at me as if they were guns.
"I'm going to be a totally different guy from now on," he said. At first, that made me a little sad, but I then I remembered the feeling I had at his age when I felt that I could reinvent myself with clothes that looked good on me and gave me confidence.
"Oh honey, don't become a totally different person, okay?" I said. " I like the guy you are right now." Nick wanted to wear his new clothes out of the store, but since our sales guy had disappeared, I had to say no. I don't want him to look like the guy trying to walk out of the store in clothes he didn't pay for. I did let him peel off his old Indiana University T-shirt and put on the black muscle shirt in the car. The next thing will be for him to build up those muscles more, but we'll get to that soon enough. The grin he wore for the next couple hours was good looking enough for me.
Thank you for listening, jb
I knew it was a bit past time for us to get him new clothes, but sometimes I forget how much more goes into choosing clothes, even for a boy. He wanted to shop at Fred Meyer, so we picked up salads and burritos at Taco Time and headed in that direction.
Once we started, I kept gravitating toward the smaller sizes. Oh, I knew what the numbers were, but the clothes in his size looked way too big. He was excited when I said okay to a handful of shorts and a half a dozen T-shirts he liked before heading to the fitting room. On his way in, he told me he wanted "one of those hats."
"Nope, you pick clothes first and we'll look at a hat if we have time or money left over when we're done," I said. He got to work. I think of it as work anyway, but he had kind of a glow in his eyes. Even the guy who unlocked the fitting room door mentioned it, a boy who wanted to try on clothes. Wow! Well, Nick wouldn't like it half so well if we shopped a lot and these days, a bunch of his T-shirts are old rejects of mine. Oh, the Purdue football T-shirt isn't so bad, but I've also given him my shirts from Cub Scout camp. He's a Boy Scout now, though he hasn't complained openly. He was down to two pair of shorts, and I knew he needed more socks. I could have gotten the socks without any fanfare, but he needed to try on the pants.
After a few minutes in the room, he flung the door open with a huge grin on his face. That was all I needed to be convinced. "Okay!" I said. "Put those in the definite yes pile." And from there, he put two more pair of shorts and five more shirts into that yes pile. I made him drop two shirts that he'd liked, but I can always buy them later after looking through his drawer at those sad looking T-shirts.
"Here, try this on," I said and dropped the fedora he'd liked over the top of the door into the changing room. That was the icing on the cake. He came out wearing Union Bay shorts in black and gray camo, a black Under Armour muscle shirt, and the DPG straw fedora with black trim. I couldn't help but laugh at the way he touched the brim of his hat and pointed his index fingers at me as if they were guns.
"I'm going to be a totally different guy from now on," he said. At first, that made me a little sad, but I then I remembered the feeling I had at his age when I felt that I could reinvent myself with clothes that looked good on me and gave me confidence.
"Oh honey, don't become a totally different person, okay?" I said. " I like the guy you are right now." Nick wanted to wear his new clothes out of the store, but since our sales guy had disappeared, I had to say no. I don't want him to look like the guy trying to walk out of the store in clothes he didn't pay for. I did let him peel off his old Indiana University T-shirt and put on the black muscle shirt in the car. The next thing will be for him to build up those muscles more, but we'll get to that soon enough. The grin he wore for the next couple hours was good looking enough for me.
Thank you for listening, jb
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