Shopping has taken on a whole new meaning

We Flamings love to shop. Back in the day when the girls were little and we were broke (which was just about most of the time) we could "do wall-mart" and never buy a thing. We would try on outfits, touch everything, play with the toys and leave with just toilet paper or whatever was on the real shopping list. Being given 2 or 3 dollars to spend at the dollar store, on anything you wanted was an hour long shopping adventure!

As the girls have gotten older shopping has changed. For one, nobody is happy with just a cheap crappy toy or the promise of candy at the checkout stand anymore. Shopping is more like being engaged in terrorist negotiations. One wrong move and I will be out smarted and will risk sure death by credit card maxation. I know what the enemy is thinking; How much is mom willing to spend, does she only have cash, can I get her to use the credit card, am I going to have to fork over some of my own money, if I tell her how great those shoes look on her I will get to wear them if she buys them. Shopping is not the slow stroll through the mall that it used to be. Don't get me wrong I still love shopping, I have a maxed out JC Penney's card to prove it!

I made my first venture through the baby section at wall-mart Saturday. I am ashamed to admit I felt funny. I felt like I had to suck in my tummy because I didn't want anyone to think I was pregnant! I rehearsed to myself what I would say if someone asked me when the baby was due. Then in the middle of all that sucking in I got offended! Why, I am not too old to have a baby if I wanted to! They better not just assume I am a grandmother!

I was engaged in my own internal hostage negotiations. I am 40 something years old and I still care way too much how other people perceive me. Why do I care what people think? Is it living in the fish bowl of ministry? Oh, I don't know. The hard truth of the matter is nobody thought twice about me shopping in the baby section. They were probably concerned about me walking in circles talking to myself while holding in my stomach more than anything.