Shopping

Is there room in this world for people like me?  Spent some time at the mall this morning.  Actually only an hour.  But it felt longer.  I've never liked to spend money.  Never liked wandering around looking at stuff.  The older a person gets, the less "stuff" matters.  I've never been one to follow the trends - that trendy stuff often looks dumb to me.  It's too much cash to spend on something that'll be out of style and dated looking in a few weeks.

Yeah, I definitely think different.  But is there room in this world for someone like me, fairly conservative in approach to just about everything?  Not particularly attractive, so not part of the "beautiful people" crowd.  We don't have tons of money like most everyone around us seems to have. And now I'm old.  So the fashions aren't meant for me.  Where on earth do older women like me find stuff to wear that doesn't look like they're wearing their granddaughter's clothes?  (Not to mention that someone in their 60's doesn't have their granddaughter's kind of shapely body anymore.  There's wear on these old bones.) It's a puzzlement. And a discouraging line of thought.

I've often heard about the marginalization of older people.  I'm beginning to really get it, now.  And feel somewhat defensive about it. I won't be one of those women who go to great lengths to look younger, I have neither the money, the time nor the desire to pretend that I haven't earned all this gray hair, wrinkly eyes and age spots on my hands.  Still, though, I'd like to feel like I have at least some reason for the years I have still to live on this earth.  I'll be trying to figure out what that is.

After I window shopped at the mall (I spent absolutely nothing there but time) I picked up a (rare for me) Jamba Juice.  The 11 year old (at least that's how old she looked) at the cash register had such a time.  Old people need all that patience they've developed so they can help the youngsters listen carefully and with their arithmetic.

And the last shopping I did?  At the grocery.  Hadn't been inside the store 5 minutes and the fire alarm went off.  I was so impressed to see people picking up their belongings and heading toward the exits. In an orderly fashion.  No screaming or running or panic like you see on the tv.  Just people doing what they need to stay safe.  The disappointing thing?  I didn't get to see all the excitement.

Our grocery often does some grilling just outside the entrance under an overhang.  Today they were smoking / grilling meat and chile peppers.  It's roasted chile pepper fest at the grocery. (And funny thing - it was a Block Party at the Credit Union when I was there earlier.  Ten a.m. was a bit too early for me for Cafe Rio samples.  I passed on all that "fun".)

I only got to see the aftermath:  the firemen wandering around keeping people safe, the big firetruck in front of the store and all the water on the pavement.  I wish the store management had made some informational announcement instead of leaving us all befuddled.

Had a lovely walk this morning - I woke up earlier than usual so hit the trail before the hordes descended and it was so pleasant.  I watched this little Momma duck and her duck-lets wander under the picnic tables in the park looking for leftover crumbs.  I stood like a statue to let them cross the path in front of me so as to not scare them.  They're cuties.

I'm grateful today that my shopping for a few days is done.  That the grocery store is safe from flames. That I wasn't even slightly tempted to spend money for something I didn't need (and would look ridiculous in).  I'm grateful for airplanes that are bringing The Husband home to me even at this very minute.  And yes, I'm grateful that I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father thinks there's room for me in this world, even though I so often feel out-of-step-unwanted-invisible.  I like to think I'm not invisible to Him.