The Adventures of Mom

No, this isn’t an ad for SteinMart! I went with my husband to his class reunion the other day. I was nervous and had not a clue to wear. He had told me it was a bit of a red-neck school and most likely fellow classmates would show up in jeans and flip flops, but it WAS being held at a country club. There’s that 20% girly girl in me that likes the heels and a twirl of a pretty skirt (the rest is pure tomboy), so on a grocery expedition, sans children, I nipped into SteinMart. My friend, Chris, always raves about SteinMart, and how she and her mom and daughter make a night of it. At the time when she said it, I thought- uh, it’s a store, right? I have never  been one to spend more than an hour in a store (and even that is with a shopping list in hand- bookstores aside). But Chris does wear incredible clothes, so I went with her suggestion and found myself at SteinMart.

      Of course I was lost among the racks of pretty clothes- and picked a handful out to try on- none which were right. A shop girl floated through the dressing room  hall with a “Does anyone need a different size?”

I ditched the first load of wrong clothes and threw myself on the mercy of an older shop clerk, telling her my dilema. She enlisted the help of the younger girl and the two of them hunted down the racks, checking out my tastes first (conservative, not too flashy- no orange or red..etc) Then I was sent back into the dressing room with a second armload of outfits. The younger girl popped a crocheted top over the door “I though this might match the skirt.” Let me tell you, having two women hunting out clothes for you is nearly equal to having your hair done at a salon- ego-boosting. (Did I mention the coffee and cookies outside the dressing room?) I haven’t had that much attention shopping since Istanbul, when the shop owner sat myself and friend down and served us mint tea in his rug shop!

Well, I came out with the perfect outfit (for me that equates to not only perfect for that occasion, but one I can use at a later date too.) I think my step was a bit lighter too. Thank you Chris, for suggesting the SteinMart experience. On another note NO ONE wore jeans or flip flops to the reunion!

Yesterday I jumped in the pool with the kids. It’s only a small thing (27in deep, 8 feet wide), but big enough for us this year. I put on one of the kids’ snorkeling masks and dove under water. My daughter went right under beside me, smiled, waved and took my hand. For the next ten minutes we swam the small circle around the pool, hand in hand, coming up for the occassional air and going down again. It was serene, it was sweet. She swam like a Weekie Watchie Mermaid in her pink flowered swim suit, eyes wide open under water without the need for goggles or mask. When she grew tired of this game, she went off to play shark (arrgh, I’m a shark!) with her brother without a second thought. I just thought, wow, she is soooo cool!  Did I mention she just turned three?