On Shopping

Yes, the curse of the post-Christmas-birthday Capricorn is that everyone–especially your Gemini mother–is all about taking advantage of post-Christmas sales on your behalf. For the ever-practical Capricorn, this presents a double-edged sword dilemma. On the one hand: bags full of free clothes you inevitably need at prices you won’t likely be able to beat the rest of the year in as few stores as possible. On the other hand: POST-CHRISTMAS SHOPPING??? ARE YOU CRAZY?!?

As we’re in downtown Charleston, and I had a targeted list of necessities, our choices were narrowed down to Mount Pleasant or the Tanger Outlet Mall. The Tanger Outlets are all set up like one of those newfangled outdoor malls, a veritable small city of shops connected by stone pedestrian walkways and lots of benches and fountains. The weather today was cloudy and 57. We voted the latter.

There’s a lot to be said for these types of malls for those of us with short mall-shopping-motivation spans. If the stores are too crowded, just step outside into the fresh air, where scads of dads with purses are scattered about, bent over their strollers and smart phones. The stores weren’t that crowded, and the “hallways” less so. It was actually a rather enjoyable experience. We went to three stores. I got everything I needed and then some (read: cute shoes!). Mom paid for two-thirds of it. Score.

Mom also pointed out that post-Christmas shopping is a good idea because we try on all those clothes and say to our mirrors, “Bleh! Time for that post-holiday diet!” She’s absolutely right. Bleh. But I’m still a happy Capricorn.

Because no matter how much weight I gain or lose, those shoes are still going to be cute.