Heaven knows, a healthy shopping habit can deplete a girl’s funds faster than the bat of my blue eyes… Too bad shopping is my favorite hobby. It is safe to say that I love everything about it, but my expeditions have been squelched by poverty. So instead, I had no choice but to cheat on shopping… This summer I had an affair with the sun, the country, the Brazilian Butt Lift, and getaways. I became addicted.
In the beginning, I tried to take up window shopping, but it was too hard. Each time I saw that dreaded four letter word: SALE, I felt forced to add to my fashion collection. Probably a good thing I am not a fan of the “look but don’t touch method” since online shopping does not appeal to me!
This reminds me of a story my pastor told the first Sunday I visited church in Argyle. He was a youth pastor at the time and his beautiful wife was in law school at OU. (Boomer!) She too has a love for fashion and is also a fellow Limited shopper. Her biggest weakness is blue jeans. He would preach, she would attend the first of 3 services and then would head to the mall. After several months of repeat blue jean purchases, my pastor felt it was time to have a “Come to Jesus meeting” over funds and hobbies.
“Wife, because I love you, I want to support you and your hobbies. However, due to current circumstances and money being extremely tight, do you think you could go to the mall and just not buy anything?”
“Well, husband, because I love you, I can try. But what if I see a pair of jeans on sale for a great deal?”
“Then go try them on if you must, but then visualize the devil since he is the one that tempts us and you won’t even want them anymore”
“Okay, I will do that for you.”
[one week later]
“Hey Honey… can you come in here? whats this bag on the bed?”
“That’s my new pair of jeans… only $20 on sale!”
“What happened to our agreement?”
“Well, I remembered it. I did exactly what you said… I went by Limited, saw a great pair of jeans… on sale AND in my size… Then I tried them on. And as I was looking in the mirror thinking to myself how cute they looked, I visualized the devil behind me… “
“So what happened? What went wrong?”
“Well I said out loud these jeans look great from the front… then the devil said, ‘they look great from back here too!’ So I just HAD to get them!”
Unlike my pastor’s wife, jeans will never be a weakness of mine. Shoes on the other hand are a different story… You see, shoes are NOT just footwear. They have some sort of mysterious super power —a practical pair, a fun pair, a pair you have nothing to wear with… flats, flip flops, stilettos, even tennis shoes—all shoes allure us girls. Best stated by the company titled, Jesus Had A Sister:
They are more than a love affair, shoes are an addiction.
Probably because you never have to diet in order to wear them!
I quit shopping cold turkey, and now I am having awful withdrawals. I ventured to the mall two weeks ago with a friend and sounded like a 5 year old kid who believes fully in the power of a tantrum, as I reached for a pair of sky high tan, yellow and brown snakeskin pumps, whining, “I waaaaannnt these!!!” Truly pathetic, I will admit.
I can now cope with those who are trying to quit other addictions like smoking. It’s not nearly as easy as one would think. I always want to leave a forwarding address after I flea from temptation. So can my love affair on shopping last forever? Well, the summer is coming to an end—there will be no more lay out and tan under the sunshine days and no more random Tuesday visits to the country, but I will always have the Brazilian Butt Lift and the ability to getaway once in a semi-annual sale. (Just kidding!) Perhaps I can cheat on shopping with something that can last year round. Okay, maybe not cheat… that sounds awful, but instead I can replace shopping with a new hobby… like working out, reading, and organizing. I feel those things are more beneficial for my health and the budget anyway.
Lesson Learned. Not all love affairs can last forever, but you can replace them with something much better: a stable relationship. So long Southlake Stilettos, Hello Adidas Running Shoes!
Oh Treadmill, I hope you never get sick of me. You’ve just become my new getaway. And books my new hobby... Congratulations.
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