SHOPPING

 

          One thing I’ve really missed in my retirement is shopping. I always loved going to various stores and finding wonderful clothing on sale. I can think of only one time I actually purchased an item that wasn’t on sale. I thought it was on sale but it wasn’t; and I liked it so much, I just had to have it even though the actual price was $158.00.

          What brought on this reflection was putting a bunch of tops on Buy Nothing. They’re all perfectly good, but they just don’t fit me as well as they once did. I haven’t gained a lot of weight, but I do have more of a tummy than I used to plus I’ve developed muscles in my old age. That’s what happens when you go to a fitness class three times a week…you develop muscles.

          Anyway, it’s not that I couldn’t go shopping and buy myself whatever I wanted whether it was on sale or not. It’s more that I don’t need much in the way of clothes beyond what’s already in my drawers and closet. I have jean shorts and tank tops with shelf bras and that’s mostly what I’m wearing in the summer. I do have a couple of dresses and skirts if I want to not wear shorts. In winter, I have sweats and jeans and sweatshirts or flannel shirts to go over my tank tops.

          I don’t know what I’m going to do when all my Champion tank tops wear out, and having had them for more than ten years, they are slowly beginning to show their age. Champion doesn’t make 100% cotton tank tops any longer and they are very hard to find, even online. I’ve mistakenly bought some that are more poly and her sister ester, that stretch as well as the cotton tops, but I don’t like the way they feel. I’ve also bought some stretchy ones that don’t have the racer back. Instead, they have thin straps. I feel as though these are more underwear than outerwear.

          Ah well, what goes around comes around, so eventually, I’m sure they…whoever they are…will begin making cotton tank tops again. I just hope that happens before I have to resort to the other ones in my drawer. True, I could put them on Buy Nothing, but I’m keeping them in reserve just in case.

          About the only shopping I do these days is Costco and the grocery store. At Costco, I rarely look at the clothing they have available because there’s nothing I need or I don’t like the product. I have two heavy shirts I bought at Costco a few years a go and I don’t care for the way they feel or smell even when they are freshly laundered. Maybe they’ll go on Buy Nothing next.

          I do have to admit that at Costco and the grocery store, I buy myself whatever I want. I still look at the price of the item, but if it’s something I know I will eat/use, I buy it no matter the cost. I deserve it. I’m worth it. I enjoy it.

          You could say I still enjoy shopping, I guess. It’s just a different kind of shopping than I used to do…more for the inside as opposed to the outside.