Rolling & Rocking

I like nice things. Who doesn't? I've been known to spend a lot of money on trivial things such as shoes and purses. But walking in my beautiful shoes wasn't as glamorous as it appeared. Inside that nice purse was very little money and many credit cards with big balances.

These days, the credit cards are paid off thanks to a collective effort of work, parenting, and marriage. All bills that come into this house leave shortly thereafter with a check that will obliterate them until the next month rolls around. And the girl that for a while paid minimum balances on credit cards has left too.

This morning the kids and I packed into the car and went to Wal-Mart. I hadn't planned on going shopping there. My main destination was Costco across the street but I had to return something at WM and went there first.

While walking through the store I walked by a rack of tank tops that I just couldn't pass up. This isn't my first go round with these tanks. The love affair started about 4 years ago when we still lived in Maryland. They were cute, cheap, and came in every color on the spectrum. I bought one and loved the way it fit so I went back and bought another and another until I had racked up about 12 of them. I slipped into a different one every day as soon as I got home from work. I figured if they lasted the season I would have gotten my money's worth. I have most of them to this day. I went and got several more the summer after that. Sure, the lighter colored ones are looking a little yellow under the arms and the darker ones are starting to fade some, but they haven't ripped or stretched out in a funky way even though I'm about twice as big as I was then.

Since we were going down memory lane with our WM attire, after throwing a couple of the tanks into my cart, we made our way to the boys' department. Js favorite shirt right now is the Mario Kart tee pictured above. My mom bought it there while she was out to visit last month, so shortly upon arriving he started scheming for a Toy Story one. We didn't find it. But we did see exactly what I was looking for.

When J was a baby I bought him a few short-sleeved t-shirts there. Nothing fancy, just 100-percent cotton, crew-neck tees in, again, every color known to man. He wore them all the time. So when September arrived I went back to get the same shirts in the long-sleeved version. He wore them alone, under short-sleeved shirts, sometimes even as PJ tops. He outgrew them before they were too dingy to throw away and I went back twice a year until the ones in the baby section got too small and the ones in the boys' section were too big. Now they fit again. We got a couple neutral-colored ones and threw in a pair of shorts for good measure because the ones I got there last summer are still in good condition after numerous washings and lots of rough and tumble.

Not to be left out, M got a cute little top too.

Our grand total for five tops and a pair of shorts: $18.

To say that today's shopping spree was a good lesson for my kids would imply that I somehow feel I went outside of what is normal to prove a point. That is not the case. This is how we live. And I'm proud of that. I have never been above going to Ross, Target or WM to buy something that I thought was cute or trendy and I'm certainly not above doing the same for my kids.

I don't want J to grow up thinking that all shirts need an alligator or a pony on the pocket to be cool or that his shorts need a swoosh or a big cat to be worthy of a spot in his dresser. One day in the not-so-far-off future material possessions will become status symbols on the playground. It's my job to teach my kids that those aren't the things that define them. He needs to know that what's hanging off his body is not nearly as important as what's deep behind that pocket -- whether there's an animal present or not. And, I don't want it to be an occasional reminder, but rather something he's always known. Because, Mario, that's how WE roll in our house.

To say that I'm completely cured of my bad habits of old would be a flat out lie; they die hard. As soon as I can get myself into a respectable size in jeans I will be going out and spending a lot of money on a new pair. But I'm still wearing the ones I bought six years ago, snug and all. And, I still like nice shoes. I just don't buy four pairs at once anymore.

That being said, the occasional North Face jacket may continue to show up in a smaller-than-adult size around here -- and if I taught him well, he'll be proudly rocking his WM t-shirt right inside of it.